Junior Failure Analysis Engineer

black.ai; Auckland; On-site; NZD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

black.ai is looking for a skilled individual to join their Failure Analysis team in Auckland. This role involves diagnosing failed hardware, understanding root causes, and enhancing product reliability for Halter collars used worldwide.

The right candidate will possess deep electronics engineering experience, a hands-on approach, and excellent communication skills. You will directly contribute to high-impact failure modes while mentoring junior engineers and collaborating with various teams to improve processes.

Qualifications

• Deep electronics engineering experience, hands-on debugging complex hardware.
• Experience diagnosing field failures and understanding product failures.
• Excellent communication skills to translate technical findings.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to high-impact failure modes in a hands-on role.
• Improve processes to enhance accuracy and reduce no-fault-found.
• Mentor and guide junior engineers to expand their knowledge.
• Work with cross-functional teams to investigate failures.
• Support recruitment for building a capable team.

Skills

Electronics engineering

Debugging complex hardware

Diagnosing field failures

Excellent communication skills

Mentoring junior engineers

Collaborative mindset

Job description

Location

Auckland

Employment Type

Full time

Location Type

On‑site

Department

Platform & Hardware

About the role

We’re changing the way the world farms - and with that comes a responsibility to the producers worldwide who trust us with their animals. We’re looking for a highly capable and first‑principled individual to join our Failure Analysis team and debug failed hardware to root cause, both from the field and lab testing. Halter collars aren’t serviced, aren’t repairable and need to last 6‑10 years, anywhere across the globe. To achieve this, we need to know about every failure in the field and how to eliminate it.

You’ll be responsible for debugging and diagnosing failed hardware, including collars and tower components, to deeply understand the root cause. Halter products are complex, highly integrated electromechanical devices, and debugging and root‑causing the many different failure modes that occur requires an inquisitive mindset and methodical approach. This is both a technical and operational role where you will be central to closing the feedback loop between our lab & field performance and our engineering teams, ensuring that each failure is investigated, understood, and used to improve product reliability.

This is a huge opportunity for the right person - you will have a lasting impact on farmers across the globe.

What you’ll do

• Personally contribute to the highest‑impact or deeply ambiguous failure modes. This is a hands‑on role; you’ll be very close to the product.

• Actively participate in developing the processes and ways of working, to improve accuracy and reduce no‑fault‑found.

• Mentor and guide junior engineers in their work, with a medium to long term view of expanding their technical knowledge and their approach to failure analysis.

• Work closely with hardware, firmware, production, supplier quality and networking teams to investigate failures and find root cause.

• Actively support the recruitment process for hiring out a brilliant team, rooted in excellent process discipline, technical capability and a tenacious curiosity to figure things out.

What you’ll bring

• Deep electronics engineering experience, with hands‑on experience debugging complex hardware.

• Experience with diagnosing field failures and understanding the relationships between in‑field events and product failures.

• Excellent communication skills and the ability to translate technical findings into clear feedback for cross‑functional teams.

• A natural inclination to share knowledge, to educate and mentor.

• A deep curiosity and principled approach to finding root causes with clear evidence.

• Strong sense of ownership and a bias for action - you’re not afraid to roll up your sleeves and get stuck into wider challenges when required.

• Low ego, highly collaborative and willing to play for the front of the Jersey.