Hardware Validation Engineer at Apple in Cupertino, CA

The Infrastructure Services (IS) Hardware Development Team is seeking a person who is a high energy and self guided hardware validation engineer to develop, implement, and execute hardware validation plans for Apple’s next generation Hyperscale and Storage Server platforms. As a key member of our hardware validation team, you will have the unique and exciting opportunity to own validation, review, and debug for the customized platforms that fit within Apple's future application and datacenter environments. These platforms are the bedrock of the internet services that will delight and inspire millions of Apple’s customers every day!

We need a hardworking person who will have validated proficiency in testing Intel and/or AMD based server and storage hardware systems. We need you to understand server architecture and be capable of developing low level test plans to validate the primary system buses (CPU, DIMM, PCIe, SATA, Ethernet, I2C, etc) from a functional, performance and error handling ability. We will require you to formulate and run tests that ensure all hardware features are functional and operate as crafted.

The candidate will also have tried and true leadership and technical competence in driving HW debug efforts throughout the server development phases where multiple issues are being concurrently investigated. We need someone who is able to prioritize issues and work across the various design subject areas (Electrical, Firmware, Mechanical, Thermal, Power, etc).

The candidate must be a strong communicator and leader and must have experience working with global teams and ODMs.

Key Qualifications

• Experience with I/O and VR validation, including PCIe, SATA, DDR, USB, I2C, and SPI
• Understanding of transmission-line theory, signal integrity, and high-speed circuit designs
• Experience performing system testing: four corner testing, stress testing, performance testing, etc.
• Experience performing PCB schematics and layouts to ensure specification compliance
• Experience with server hardware bring up, debug and troubleshooting
• Experience using high speed Logic Analyzers and Oscilloscopes, TDR/VNAs, Power Meters, etc.
• Experience with Linux operating system and basic scripting
• Experience identifying, developing, and using stress tools and benchmarks to evaluate system behavior and identify patterns and test cases that rapidly expose design flaws
• Experience working in both ODM and OEM environments
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills - ability to summarize/coordinate sophisticated data and present it clearly
• Able to work alone and as a team on preparing, implementing, and maintaining validation test plans and procedures
• Experience collaborating with multi-functional teams and external vendors to achieve and deliver results
• Ability to think creatively, problem seek, and innovate
• Validated ability to work under high pressure and comfortable working in a dynamic environment

Description

Validation Engineer for the Hardware team

Create and execute the HW val plans for hardware platforms and components

Drive ODMs and vendors to handle validations of all aspects of the IS hardware platforms

Review and audit validation reports to ensure alignment to specifications

Perform board level and system level validation to identify any issues or weaknesses in design

Work closely with electrical, firmware, and system engineers to debug, root cause and resolve issues

Perform PCB schematic and layout reviews to catch issues prior to board release

Maintain familiarity with industry technology and identify equipment, tools, and capabilities required to support validation of new technology

Engage with partnering teams to smoothly transition systems from development into production

Communicate and execute to validation schedules to meet program targets

Education & Experience

BS Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering or equivalent experience.