Senior Failure Analysis Engineer

Posted Yesterday
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Menlo Park, CA, USA
In-Office
117K-138K Annually
Senior level
Energy
The Role
Leads hands-on investigations of electrical hardware failures, performs root cause analysis, and translates findings into corrective and preventive actions. The role improves failure-analysis throughput, documents diagnostic workflows and failure modes, collaborates with design, manufacturing, quality, reliability, and maintenance teams, and mentors junior engineers and technicians. Focus areas include power electronics, EMC/EMI issues, environmental degradation, thermal cycling, moisture, and system-level electrical interactions.
Summary Generated by Built In

Job Overview

    Our Linear Generator is a sophisticated system integrating a wide range of engineering disciplines, including thermodynamics, mechanical, electrical, software, and controls. To support our rapid transition into volume manufacturing we are actively expanding the scope and size of our Failure Analysis team.

    We are looking for a highly motivated Senior Failure Analysis Engineer with a strong electrical engineering background to join us. In this role, you will own the investigation of electrical failures, scaling our FA throughput and translating physics-of-failure insights into hardware improvements. This is a high-visibility and high-impact role where your findings will help steer design iterations, prevent escapes, increase test coverage and help ensure the ultimate reliability of the fundamentally new class of  power generation.

Responsibilities

  • Lead Hands-on Investigations: Perform deep-dive troubleshooting and debugging on a wide variety of electrical enclosures and hardware, ranging from low-voltage logic controllers to high-voltage power switching systems

  • Drive Root Cause Analysis: Apply structured engineering and problem-solving methodologies to pinpoint mechanisms of failure, translating your findings into actionable containment, corrective, and preventive actions (CAPA)

  • Accelerate FA Throughput: Streamline diagnostic workflows and optimization techniques to increase the pace of our failure analysis loop, ensuring rapid feedback for fast-moving product upgrade programs

  • Collaborate Cross-Functionally: Work closely with Design Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Reliability, and field maintenance teams to clearly communicate data-driven FA findings and influence product improvements

  • Build the Knowledge Base: Document diagnostic workflows, teardown procedures, and failure-mode data to build a resourceful knowledge base

  • Coach and Mentor: Provide technical guidance, mentorship, and coaching to less experienced failure analysis engineers and technicians, raising the collective technical bar and impact of the team

The Ideal Candidate

  • You thrive at the intersection of electrical hardware and physics. You love getting your hands on in the lab, tracing signals, and finding the needle in a haystack within complex electrical architectures

  • You are fascinated by environmental and system interactions. The challenge of understanding how EMC/EMI issues, thermal cycling, moisture, and harsh operating environments interact with complex power electronics excites you

  • You are a master of structured problem-solving. You don't rely on guesswork; you systematically approach failures using data and frameworks to build an ironclad case for root cause analysis

  • You thrive in dynamic, cross-disciplinary environments. You enjoy working side-by-side with cross-functional teams, seamlessly closing gaps to solve multi-faceted system issues

  • You are an impactful communicator. You can translate complex, highly technical electrical failure mechanisms into clear, concise, and actionable insights for both technical peers and executive stakeholders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline required

  • Minimum 5–8+ years of direct, applicable experience in failure analysis, electrical troubleshooting, or reliability engineering

  • Deep expertise in analyzing system-level electrical interactions, including hands-on experience identifying and mitigating EMC/EMI issues and environmental degradation

  • Proficiency with common structured problem-solving methodologies (e.g., 8D, Ishikawa diagrams, 5-Why analysis)

  • Strong verbal and written communication skills to construct clear FA reports and presenting technical data to cross-functional teams

  • Experience with coaching or mentoring junior engineers or laboratory technicians

  • Detail-oriented mindset with the ability to manage multiple priorities comfortably in a fast-paced, high-growth environment

Skills Required

  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline
  • 5-8+ years of direct applicable experience in failure analysis, electrical troubleshooting, or reliability engineering
  • Deep expertise analyzing system-level electrical interactions
  • Hands-on experience identifying and mitigating EMC/EMI issues and environmental degradation
  • Proficiency with structured problem-solving methodologies, including 8D, Ishikawa diagrams, and 5-Why analysis
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills for failure-analysis reports and technical presentations
  • Experience coaching or mentoring junior engineers or laboratory technicians
  • Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, high-growth environment
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The Company
HQ: Menlo Park, CA
294 Employees
Year Founded: 2010

What We Do

Driven by our vision of the affordable, reliable, net-zero carbon grid of the future, Mainspring has developed a new category of power generation — the linear generator — that delivers onsite, fuel-flexible power to accelerate the transition to the future grid. To learn more visit www.mainspringenergy.com.

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