Job Details
Senior Staff Reliability Engineer
2025-08-07 Industrialinnovationfund San Francisco,CAAgility Robotics is a pioneer. Our robot, Digit, is the first to be sold into workplaces across the globe. Our team is differentiated by its expertise in imagining, engineering, and delivering robots with advanced mobility, dexterity, intelligence, and efficiency -- robots specifically designed to work alongside people, in spaces built for people. Every day, we break through engineering challenges and invent new solutions and capabilities that will one day make robots commonplace and approachable. This work is our passion and our responsibility: our mission is to make businesses more productive and people's lives more fulfilling.
About Agility Robotics:Agility Robotics is at the forefront of humanoid robotics, redefining how robots interact with and navigate the human world. Our cutting-edge robots rely on advanced hardware systems, including actuators, motor controllers, sensors, PCBAs, limbs, and end effectors, to perform complex tasks in dynamic and demanding environments.
Location:
This position can be based either within commuting distance of our Salem, OR headquarters or remotely in the San Francisco Bay Area. For remote candidates, regular travel to Salem, typically 1 but sometimes 2 weeks per month, will be required.
About the Role:We are seeking an experienced Senior Staff Reliability Engineer to lead hardware reliability efforts for our humanoid robots. This role is critical to ensuring the performance, safety, and durability of our products throughout their lifecycle. Leveraging your deep expertise in reliability engineering, you will lead efforts to establish reliability standards, conduct advanced analyses, and drive improvements across key hardware components and systems.
About the Work:
- Reliability Strategy & Leadership:
- Develop and implement a comprehensive reliability engineering strategy for hardware systems, with a focus on actuators, motor controllers, PCBAs, sensors, limbs, and end effectors.
- Establish and maintain reliability metrics, goals, and test protocols for each product lifecycle stage, from design to production.
- Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams (mechanical, electrical, firmware, and manufacturing) to integrate reliability principles into design and development processes.
- Efficient Testing & Analysis: Ability to design reliability testing approaches that extract meaningful insights from small sample sizes, as large, statistically significant sample sizes (30+ units) are typically not available at our stage. Must leverage statistical methods, engineering judgment, and accelerated testing techniques to drive data-informed decisions.
- Component Derating & Analysis:
- Apply component derating principles to ensure hardware components operate well within their rated limits, improving system reliability and longevity.
- Analyze thermal, electrical, and mechanical stresses to identify potential failure points and recommend design adjustments.
- Perform Coffin-Manson fatigue analysis to predict the lifecycle of materials and components under cyclic thermal and mechanical loading.
- Failure Analysis & Testing:
- Lead root cause analysis (RCA) for hardware failures, implementing corrective actions and preventative measures.
- Develop and oversee reliability testing plans, including Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT), Highly Accelerated Stress Screening (HASS), vibration testing, and environmental stress testing.
- Analyze field data, prototype testing results, and production feedback to identify trends and drive improvements.
- Component & System Validation:
- Validate critical hardware components, including actuators, motor controllers, sensors, and PCBAs, through rigorous testing and analysis.
- Drive Design for Reliability (DfR) methodologies, including FMEA, DFMEA, stress analysis, and reliability growth modeling.
- Partner with suppliers to verify the reliability and quality of sourced components, ensuring alignment with design and reliability standards.
- Continuous Improvement:
- Identify and implement design and process improvements to enhance product reliability, reduce failure rates, and improve durability.
- Contribute to the development of reliability standards, documentation, and best practices to guide future hardware development.
- Collaboration & Reporting:
- Provide reliability reports, insights, and recommendations to stakeholders, including engineering leadership and executive teams.
- Mentor and coach junior engineers, fostering a strong culture of reliability across the organization.
Qualifications:
- Experience:
- Minimum of 15 years of experience in reliability engineering for complex hardware systems.
- Strong preference for candidates with experience in robotics, autonomous vehicles, aerospace, or other high-reliability industries.
- Technical Expertise:
- Extensive experience with reliability engineering principles, including component derating, FMEA/DFMEA, and Coffin-Manson analysis for fatigue prediction.
- Proficiency in reliability testing methods such as HALT, HASS, vibration, and thermal cycling.
- Strong understanding of mechanical systems, electronic components (PCBAs, motor controllers), sensors, and materials science.
- Skills:
- Exceptional problem-solving and analytical skills, with a focus on data-driven decision-making.
- Excellent communication and collaboration abilities, capable of working with cross-disciplinary teams and suppliers.
- Proven ability to lead RCA efforts, implement corrective actions, and drive reliability improvements.
- Education:
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field (Master's or PhD preferred).
Why Join Agility Robotics?
- Be part of a team redefining the future of robotics.
- Work on cutting-edge hardware systems in a fast-paced, innovative environment.
- Collaborate with world-class talent on challenging and meaningful projects.
Benefits
- 401(k) Plan:Includes a 6% company match.
- Equity:Company stock options.
- Insurance Coverage:100% company-paid medical, dental, vision, and short/long-term disability insurance for employees.
- Benefit Start Date:Eligible for benefits on your first day of employment.
- Well-Being Support:Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
- Time Off:
- Exempt Employees:Flexible, unlimited PTO and 10 company holidays, including a winter shutdown.
- Non-Exempt Employees:10 vacation days, paid sick leave, and 10 company holidays, including a winter shutdown, annually.
- On-Site Perks:Catered lunches twice a week and a variety of healthy snacks and refreshments at our Salem and Pittsburgh locations.
- Parental Leave:Generous paid parental leave programs.
- Work Environment:A culture that supports flexible work arrangements.
- Growth Opportunities:Professional development and tuition reimbursement programs.
- Relocation Assistance:Provided for eligible roles.
Agility Robotics is committed to a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Each individual has the right to work in a professional atmosphere that promotes equal employment opportunities and prohibits unlawful discriminatory practices, including harassment. Therefore, it is the policy of Agility Robotics to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital status, citizenship, national origin, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. Agility Robotics prohibits any such discrimination or harassment.
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