Technical Leader/Senior Hardware Engineer - Hardware System & Board Failure Analysis

Technical Leader/Senior Hardware Engineer - Hardware System & Board Failure Analysis
San Jose, CA
Hire Type: fulltime

Salary Range: $100,000 - $150,000 a year

Must Have Technical/Functional Skills
Education & Experience: B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Materials Science,
or related field with 10+ years of progressive experience in hardware engineering, board design,
or system-level failure analysis.

High-Speed Hardware Expertise: Well versed in modern system architectures (PCIe Gen4/5/6,
DDR4/5, HBM, 56G/112G/224G SerDes, optical transceivers).
Power & Signal Integrity: Proven ability to debug complex power distribution network issues
(multi-phase VRM transient droop, PMBus/SVID telemetry, switching noise) and high-speed signal
integrity anomalies.

Supplier Engagement: Hands-on experience directing external silicon suppliers and analytical
laboratories through component-level physical FA.
Communication: Strong executive presence with proven capability to articulate complex technical
findings to cross-functional leaders and enterprise customers.
Key Responsibilities
Investigation Leadership: Lead end-to-end technical investigations for critical field escalations and
complex system failures spanning hardware, signal integrity, power delivery, thermal dynamics, and firmware.
Experimental Test Planning: Formulate structured FA hypotheses, architect fault isolation trees, and
direct lab engineers/technicians in executing test plans on high-speed boards and multi-chassis systems.
Multi-Domain Root Cause Analysis: Drive cross-functional root cause isolation interfacing with ASIC
Architecture, Signal Integrity (SI), Power Integrity (PI), Mechanical/Thermal, Diagnostics, and Software
engineering teams.
Vendor & OSAT Management: Partner with component vendors, semiconductor foundries, and packaging
houses (OSATs) to drive component-level physical FA (CSAM, X-Ray, FIB, SEM/EDX, decapsulation,
micro-probing).

Design Feedback (DFX): Synthesize field and manufacturing failure data to drive Design-for-Reliability
(DFR), Design-for-Debug (DFD), and Design-for-Manufacturing (DFM) requirements into next-gen hardware.
Mentorship & Process Excellence: Establish standardized RCFA methodologies, define best-in-class
8D report standards, and mentor junior engineers across the FA team.