Director of Quality and Reliability

Optivolt; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health coverage

Unlimited PTO

Equity package

Job summary

Optivolt in San Francisco seeks a hands-on Director of Quality and Reliability to own quality, reliability, and bankability programs from prototype through volume production. You will design scalable quality systems, lead certification, manage supplier quality, perform root-cause analysis, and collaborate with product and engineering to translate validation into design improvements.

The role requires a strong background in hardware quality, risk-based decision making, and frequent

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in engineering or a related field preferred.
• 5+ years hardware quality and test experience from development through production.
• 2+ years leading a quality or reliability function.
• Experience building quality systems covering document control, nonconformance, CAPA, supplier quality, and audits.
• Hands-on experience with accelerated life, environmental, and durability tests.

Responsibilities

• Own quality, reliability, and performance validation roadmap from product development through production and field support.
• Plan certification testing and manage external labs, certification bodies, and regulatory partners.
• Lead supplier and contract manufacturing quality programs including audits and inspections.
• Investigate failures, drive root-cause analysis, CAPA, and corrective actions; ensure effectiveness.
• Develop fixtures, protocols, and data collection for validation and production testing; translate results into design improvements.

Skills

Quality leadership

Hardware reliability

Root cause analysis

CAPA & FMEA

Supplier quality

Test planning

Regulatory certification

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in engineering or related field

Job description

About Optivolt

Optiolt’s mission is to overshoot humanity’s energy supply by reimagining solar.

America is at an inflection point. We need reliable energy fast. The grid is aging. And solar, the only technology that deploys quickly enough, is still constrained by technology frozen in time.

To close this gap, we build intelligent solar systems that think and adapt to real world conditions. Optivolt solar systems understand the sun, the weather, shading, harsh conditions, and optimize energy flow in real time. Every Optivolt panel is designed with an aerospace power electronics brain sealed inside to make solar more powerful and cost effective than ever in any condition.

The next step is putting it everywhere. In the home as Optivolt Home Solar and in the field as Optivolt Solar Fields. Hyper performant, controllable, reliable solar that works for everyone, everywhere.

Our Team & Traction

Optivolt is a team of some of the best builders and doers in the world, drawing from incredible talent pools in aerospace, electrical engineering, design‑led organizations. We ultimately will win by designing and building the world’s best solar energy products.

But chiefly important, our organization is a lab for those devoted to solving some of the toughest problems in energy. Everyone is expected to contribute to the mission meaningfully. Clear communication, rapid iteration, and strong work ethic is the floor for anyone on our team.

To date we’ve shipped over 20,000 units and have companies worth billions of dollars relying on our solar architecture.

Why we are looking for you

As the Director of Quality and Reliability, you will ensure our hardware meets quality standards, performs as claimed, and delivers reliable service from prototype through full‑scale production. You will build the quality systems and validation evidence that support our technology as we scale.

We are seeking a hands‑on Director of Quality and Reliability to own Optivolt’s quality, product reliability, and bankability programs across development, certification, manufacturing, and field deployment. This leader will build scalable programs and demonstrate that our hardware meets quality, reliability, performance, and regulatory requirements.

This is a high‑autonomy, hands‑on role. You will be both the primary owner and day‑to‑day practitioner for product quality, reliability, and performance validation. Working closely with product and engineering teams, you will personally conduct inspections, design and execute tests, investigate failures, develop fixtures, and support certification.

What you’ll do

Quality and Reliability Strategy

• Own the quality, reliability, and performance validation roadmap from product development through production and field support.
• Build scalable quality systems, procedures, and controls suited to a growing hardware company.
• Define quality, reliability, and performance metrics with bankability requirements in mind; use test and field data to prioritize risks and improvements.
• Set quality gates and release criteria based on manufacturing readiness, certification, and demonstrated reliability and performance.

Certification and Compliance

• Own the certification and compliance roadmap and relationships with external labs, certification bodies, and regulatory partners.
• Plan certification testing to meet applicable requirements, program milestones, and launch schedules.
• Manage certification documentation, technical evidence, open issues, and product changes through approval and ongoing compliance.

Manufacturing and Supplier Quality

• Lead supplier and contract manufacturing quality programs, including audits, production inspections, and testing.
• Develop control plans, sampling methods, and incoming, in‑process, and final inspection requirements.
• Investigate production and field failures; drive root cause analysis, corrective action, effectiveness verification, and closure.
• Improve supplier quality, process capability, and production yield with engineering, operations, and manufacturing partners.

Product Reliability and Performance Validation

• Own reliability and performance validation plans towards bankability requirements - with measurable targets, representative use conditions, sample sizes, and acceptance criteria.
• Design and run accelerated life, environmental, and durability testing; evaluate failure modes, degradation, and expected service life.
• Prove product performance through controlled lab tests and field trials against defined baselines; substantiate power output, efficiency, and energy‑yield claims.
• Select and coordinate third‑party test labs, including scopes, protocols, quotes, schedules, samples, troubleshooting, and review of test reports.
• Develop fixtures, protocols, and data collection for validation and production testing; ensure repeatability, coverage, and credible evidence for technical reviews.
• Partner with the Test Engineer, engineering team, and VP of Manufacturing to translate validation and field results into design improvements and release decisions.

What we’re looking for

• A Bachelor's degree or higher in engineering, industrial engineering, systems engineering, or a related field is preferred but not required.
• 5+ years of progressive hardware quality and test experience, including product reliability and performance validation from development through volume production.
• 2+ years owning a quality or reliability function or leading major programs in a lean or complex hardware environment.
• Experience building quality systems covering document and change control, nonconformance, CAPA, supplier quality, and audit readiness.
• Hands‑on experience designing and executing accelerated life, environmental, and durability tests, and evaluating failure modes, degradation, and service life.
• Experience defining measurable performance requirements and substantiating claims through controlled lab testing, field trials, and benchmark comparisons.
• Strong supplier and contract manufacturing quality experience, including audits, control plans, inspections, yield, and process improvement.
• Experience owning product certification or compliance programs like or involving UL, Intertek, FCC, CEC, or other relevant organizations.

• Strong command of root cause analysis, 8D, CAPA, FMEA, and risk‑based decision‑making.
• Proficiency in reliability statistics and quality analysis, including life‑data analysis, confidence intervals, SPC, process capability, and measurement‑system analysis.
• Experience managing third‑party test labs, including scopes, methods, schedules, budgets, and critical review of results and reports.
• Hands‑on leader able to investigate failures, communicate technical risks, and align engineering, operations, suppliers, and test partners.
• Willingness to travel up to 30% to external production and test sites.

Additional requirements

• Willingness to work extended hours as needed to support critical milestones
• Everyone at Optivolt is required to participate in on call support for customers
• Must be based in San Francisco, CA

Pay and benefits

The estimated starting base salary range for this role is $160K-220K depending on level, location and experience, plus a generous pre‑IPO equity package

Other benefits include comprehensive health coverage, unlimited PTO, plus extra fun perks!