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Product Reliability Engineer

OpenAI· Scaling
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Hybrid (San Francisco)$207k - $365kFull-timePosted 5d ago

About the role

Role focused on reliability engineering for advanced IT hardware (PCBAs, trays, systems, and racks) within OpenAI’s Hardware/Compute organization, translating operating conditions into reliability requirements, designing qualification plans, conducting accelerated life tests, performing failure analysis, and driving corrective actions from development through production and field deployment.

Responsibilities

  • Define reliability requirements and targets for PCBAs, trays, systems, and racks using mission profiles, expected service life, operating environments, duty cycles, and availability goals.
  • Drive design-for-reliability reviews with electrical, mechanical, and thermal engineers. Use DFMEA/FMEA and physics of failure to prioritize risks and recommend design improvements. Own component de-rating guidelines and guidance.
  • Own reliability qualification plans from new product introduction through production, defining test coverage, representative configurations, sample sizes, stress conditions, duration, pass/fail criteria, and exit evidence at each assembly level.
  • Develop and execute accelerated life and environmental tests, including temperature cycling, humidity exposure, power cycling, shock, vibration, and transport testing. Monitor function and degradation during stress.
  • Analyze life-test and field data using Weibull and other reliability models, acceleration models, and confidence intervals; state assumptions, exposure, and uncertainty when estimating failure rates and reliability.
  • Lead failure investigations from symptom reproduction through physical root cause; maintain failure reporting and corrective-action records; verify fixes through targeted testing.
  • Review supplier reliability plans and evidence for PCBs, PCBa components/assemblies, cables, connectors, and cooling components; identify gaps between component qualification and stresses in the integrated system.
  • Work hands-on with internal and partner labs to develop fixtures, instrumentation, and test methods; review sample traceability, test configurations, calibration, raw data, and failure capture; provide on-site support at manufacturing partners.
  • Partner with manufacturing and quality engineers to establish and validate reliability screens, burn-in, and ongoing reliability testing; ensure screening detects defects without excessive product life consumption.
  • Evaluate reliability risks from assembly and integration (board strain, solder-joint damage, connector wear, cable routing, etc.); collaborate with cooling specialists on leak integrity and material compatibility.
  • Plan reliability test resources, lab capacity, hardware samples, schedules, and dependencies across programs with engineering teams, PMs, suppliers, and manufacturing partners.
  • Present qualification results, unresolved failure modes, and residual risk at design/release reviews; provide evidence-based readiness recommendations and identify test gaps and owners.
  • Assess reliability impact and define targeted requalification for design, component, supplier, manufacturing process, and repair changes, including firmware changes that alter stresses.
  • Track field returns and fleet failure trends; correlate telemetry and configuration history to prioritize corrective actions and feed lessons into future designs.
  • Validate serviceability and repeated assembly or maintenance operations; assess how failures, redundancy, and recovery affect rack availability.
  • You might thrive in this role if you:
  • Have hands-on reliability engineering experience with advanced IT hardware (AI/HPC servers, networking, storage) spanning PCBAs, electromechanical assemblies, and integrated racks.
  • Have designed, instrumented, and executed hardware reliability tests; debugged lab failures and translated results into design/process improvements.
  • Understand failure mechanisms in electronic assemblies (solder fatigue, PCB damage, corrosion, thermal/mechanical degradation).
  • Turn mission profiles and failure risks into qualification plans and justify stress levels and sample sizes.
  • Lead reliability qualification through development and production milestones with balanced resources and evidence for release decisions.
  • Collaborate with component suppliers, contract manufacturers, and external test labs to review methods, resolve failures, and verify corrective actions.
  • Apply design-for-reliability, DFMEA, and physics-of-failure across electrical, mechanical, and thermal interfaces; consider manufacturing and repair impact on long-term reliability.
  • Lead structured failure analysis and corrective action using 8D and technical diagnostics.
  • Analyze reliability and life-test data (Weibull, censored data) using Python, R, JMP, or similar tools.
  • Bring experience with high-power electronics, dense interconnects, or liquid-cooled hardware, including thermal interfaces and serviceability.
  • Communicate technical findings clearly, distinguishing verified root causes from hypotheses, and prioritize risks when designs change.

Qualifications

  • Hands-on reliability engineering experience with advanced IT hardware (AI/HPC servers, networking equipment, or storage systems).
  • Experience designing, instrumenting, and executing hardware reliability tests; performing failure analysis.
  • Understanding of failure mechanisms in electronic assemblies (solder fatigue, PCB damage, corrosion, thermal/mechanical degradation).
  • Ability to translate mission profiles into qualification plans and justify stress levels and sample sizes.
  • Experience leading reliability qualification through development and production milestones.
  • Experience collaborating with component suppliers, contract manufacturers, and external test labs.
  • Knowledge of DFMEA and physics-of-failure methods across electrical, mechanical, and thermal interfaces; understanding manufacturing/assembly impact on reliability.
  • Experience with structured failure analysis and corrective action (e.g., 8D).
  • Proficiency in analyzing life-test data using tools like Python, R, JMP; knowledge of Weibull distributions and confidence bounds.
  • Experience with high-power electronics, dense interconnects, or liquid-cooled hardware; thermal management and serviceability.

Skills

Required:Reliability engineeringDFMEA/FMEAQualification planningAccelerated life testingFailure analysisStatistical analysisLaboratory testing
Nice to have:Vendor/ supplier collaboration

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts
  • Pre-tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses
  • 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
  • Paid parental leave (up to 24 weeks for birth parents and 20 weeks for non-birthing parents) plus paid medical and caregiver leave (up to 8 weeks)
  • Paid time off: flexible PTO for exempt employees and up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees
  • 13+ paid company holidays plus additional paid office closures and paid sick/time off as required
  • Mental health and wellness support
  • Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage
  • Annual learning and development stipend
  • Daily meals in offices and meal delivery credits
  • Relocation assistance for eligible employees
  • Additional taxable fringe benefits (e.g., charitable donation matching, wellness stipends)
  • Details available during hiring process
Last updated Oct 22, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About OpenAI

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