Astranis

Senior Reliability Test Engineer

Astranis$145K — $235K *
Aerospace & Defense
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • B.S. in Mechanical, Electrical, Physics, Materials Science, or a related field.
  • 5+ years in reliability or test engineering on high-reliability hardware, or 3+ years with an M.S.
  • Hands-on experience testing mechanical and electromechanical systems; expertise with a variety of sensors and DAQ devices.
  • History of establishing reliability engineering frameworks for products or programs.
  • Experience creating qualification test requirements that proactively improve reliability estimates.
  • Domain expertise in ESC parts, avionics, batteries, or other high-reliability systems.
  • Strong technical writing skills for generating test plans and reports.

Responsibilities

  • Develop and execute comprehensive reliability test plans, including environmental and accelerated life tests.
  • Design and automate test equipment in Python to maximize efficiency.
  • Set reliability targets and create mission profiles for various hardware components.
  • Guide design teams on reliability best practices and conduct design reviews.
  • Lead DFMEA and Fault Tree Analysis efforts with cross-functional teams.
  • Build and maintain reliability models, focusing on physics-of-failure predictions.
  • Lead investigations into reliability risks, including failures and anomalies.

Benefits

  • Equity package through incentive stock options.
  • Company-subsidized healthcare coverage.
  • Disability and life insurance.
  • 401(k) retirement planning options.
  • Flexible PTO policy.
  • Complimentary on-site catered meals.
Full Job Description
Senior Reliability Test Engineer

As a Senior Reliability Test Engineer you work at the intersection of every engineering discipline to ensure our hardware meets the highest bar for quality and reliability. You own reliability for complex electromechanical and electronic hardware from concept through high-rate production and on-orbit operations. You set the targets, build the analyses and test frameworks that prove them, own the labs and tooling that generate the evidence, and lead the investigations when hardware fails. The ideal candidate is self-driven and has designed reliability test campaigns from the ground up.
  • Develop and execute qualification and validation test plans: environmental, accelerated life, shock, vibration, thermal cycling, HALT, and HASS.
  • Design, build, and automate test equipment, fixturing, and instrumentation end to end in Python, maximizing throughput against rapid design cycles.
  • Establish reliability targets across PCBAs, power electronics, avionics, actuators, batteries, high-speed digital and RF systems, and develop the unit-level mission profiles that every prediction and test profile derives from.
  • Review block diagrams, interface control documents, and schematics and guide teams on design for reliability before designs lock.
  • Lead DFMEA and Fault Tree Analysis with cross-functional teams, and convert the output into design verification plans and implemented design changes.
  • Build and maintain reliability models as living artifacts. Create physics-of-failure predictions, mission risk quantification, and Weibull analysis on qualification, production, and field data.
  • Serve as the escalation point for reliability risks: triage severity, then lead containment and root-cause investigation of high-impact failures from validation, production, and on-orbit anomalies.
  • Coordinate failure analysis and destructive physics analysis using: electrical characterization, microscopy, thermal imaging, X-ray, CT, cross-sectioning, and SEM-EDS.
  • Perform analyses on field telemetry, identify performance and degradation trends, update mission profiles, and influence upstream teams to prioritize work that prevents reliability failures.
  • Define entry and exit criteria for program gates and mentor engineers to raise reliability capability across the company.
Requirements
  • B.S. in Mechanical, Electrical, Physics, Materials Science, or an equivalent technical discipline.
  • 5+ years in reliability, test, or design engineering on high-reliability hardware or 3+ years with an M.S.
  • Hands-on testing experience with mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical systems, and with a wide range of sensors, actuators, instrumentation, and DAQ devices.
  • Experience standing up reliability engineering frameworks for a product or program, covering detailed reliability analysis, development testing, production testing, and field data analysis,
  • Experience generating qualification test requirements and executing tests that proactively characterize product behavior and iteratively improve designs and reliability estimates.
  • Domain depth in one or more of: EEE piece parts, avionics, PCBA reliability, battery systems, EV powertrain or HV devices, thermal systems, actuators, or solar cells.
  • Experience owning reliability infrastructure: test labs and chambers, failure analysis equipment, metrology and instrumentation, automatic testing equipment and fixtures.
  • Proven track record of driving systemic improvements and shaping engineering strategy.
  • Expertise in reliability analysis: FMEA/FMECA, FTA, predictive modeling, and Weibull analysis.
  • Failure investigation experience with a proven record of solving problems and preventing recurrence.
  • Design review experience (PDR, CDR, MRR) and confidence presenting to every level of leadership.
  • Strong technical writing: test plans, reports, requirements, standards, and specifications.
  • Working proficiency in Python, C++, or your coding language of choice.
Bonus
  • M.S. in an engineering discipline, or a degree specifically in Reliability Engineering.
  • Familiarity with ASTM, JEDEC, IEEE, ISO, and MIL test standards.
  • Weibull++, ReliaSoft, or equivalent
  • HV testing experience
  • JMP, Python, or R for data analysis
  • Familiarity with Linux, shell scripting, software/firmware HITL/SITL, and Python/SQL for data analysis.


What we offer:

All our positions offer a compensation package that includes equity and robust benefits.

Base pay is just one component of Astranis's total rewards package. Your compensation also includes a significant equity package via incentive stock options, high-quality company-subsidized healthcare, disability and life insurance, 401(k) retirement planning, flexible PTO, and free on-site catered meals.

Astranis pay ranges are informed and defined through professional-grade salary surveys and compensation data sources. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, and the level and scope of the position.

Base Salary

$145,000-$235,000 USD

U.S. Citizenship, Lawful Permanent Residency, or Refugee/Asylee Status Required

(To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States, or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3))

About Astranis

Astranis is a satellite manufacturing company that was founded in 2015 by John Gedmark and Ryan McLinko. The company is focused on building small, low-cost satellites that can provide internet access to remote areas of the world. Astranis has partnerships with major telecommunications companies such as Pacific Dataport and Alaska Communications, and has raised over $108 million in funding from investors such as Andreessen Horowitz and Venrock. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Learn more about Astranis
Size
50 employees
Industry
Founded
2015

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