The Role:
The Thermal Mechanical Reliability Test Engineer owns hands-on thermal and mechanical reliability testing for AI hardware systems and subassemblies. This role designs and runs environmental and mechanical stress tests, builds fixtures and instrumentation, and delivers clear, traceable data that drives design, process, and supplier improvements. The work is lab-heavy, fast-paced, and highly cross-functional. This role owns test execution end-to-end: planning, setup, execution, data quality, and reporting.
Responsibilities:
- Develop and execute thermal and mechanical reliability test plans, including thermal cycling, thermal soak, humidity, vibration, mechanical shock, pressure cycling, and combined environment testing.
- Design and build fixtures, mounting hardware, and test setups for system and component testing, including plumbing, strain management, leak mitigation, and electrical continuity monitoring when needed.
- Own instrumentation and data acquisition for reliability experiments (temperature, pressure, flow, differential pressure, vibration response, valve position, pump speed, power, and current).
- Operate and maintain readiness of test equipment (thermal chambers, shakers, shock systems, chillers, pumps, DAQ) and coordinate calibration and preventive maintenance.
- Define stress profiles, failure definitions, and acceptance criteria using physics-of-failure thinking and practical constraints (sample size, test duration, measurement uncertainty).
- Plan and execute design of experiments (DOEs) to evaluate materials, assembly changes, supplier changes, or process improvements and quantify impact on reliability.
- Partner with Failure Analysis and Design Engineering to troubleshoot anomalies, correlate failures to test conditions, and drive root cause and corrective actions.
- Coordinate with external labs for specialized testing (shock and vibration overflow, metrology, or analysis), including test scope definition and data review.
- Document test setups, procedures, results, and recommendations clearly and consistently; present findings to engineering and program stakeholders.
- Maintain a strong safety culture in the lab (risk assessments, safe operation of high-temperature equipment, pressurized systems, rotating equipment, and electrical hazards).
Skills & Qualifications:
- BS or MS in Mechanical, Electrical, or Reliability Engineering, or equivalent technical discipline.
- 5+ years of experience in reliability or environmental testing for electronic or electromechanical products.
- Strong understanding of reliability standards and methods (JEDEC, IPC).
- Hands-on experience in thermal cycling, vibration, humidity, shock, or mechanical fatigue testing.
- Familiarity with DAQ (data acquisition) systems and test automation tools (LabVIEW, Python, PLC).
- Experience performing or interpreting statistical reliability analysis (Weibull, lognormal, MTTF, MTBF).
- Knowledge of GD&T, metrology, and mechanical inspection tools such as calipers, micrometers, and CMMs.
- Exposure to cross-sectioning, microscopy, and precision measurement for failure validation is a plus.
- Strong communication and documentation skills with the ability to summarize complex findings clearly.
- Highly organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable working in a fast-paced, lab-based environment.
- Experience with CAD (SolidWorks, Creo), test automation and data analysis (Python, LabVIEW, MATLAB), and basic CAE tools (ANSYS) preferred. Familiarity with vibration and shock test software is a plus.
The base salary range for this position is $180,000 to $250,000 annually. Actual compensation may include bonus and equity, and will be determined based on factors such as experience, skills, and qualifications.
