Failure Analysis Engineer - Electronics Reliability

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline in South San Francisco is seeking a Failure Analysis Engineer to investigate hardware failures in autonomous delivery systems. You will analyze flex circuits, PCBAs, connectors, and harnesses, working hands-on in the lab to derive evidence-based conclusions and drive improvements.

The role requires a bachelor’s degree in EE/ME/Materials Science/Physics or equivalent hands-on experience, plus proficiency with test equipment and data analysis.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics or related field.
• Hands-on comfort with electronics, hardware assemblies, and lab equipment.
• Ability to read schematics, wiring diagrams, PCB layouts and datasheets.
• Strong troubleshooting and methodical approach to isolating failures.
• Experience with standard electrical test equipment and data analysis tools.

Responsibilities

• Investigate failures in flex circuits, PCBAs, connectors, and harnesses.
• Preserve failed hardware and collect relevant data and configurations.
• Reproduce intermittent failures under electrical, mechanical, thermal and environmental conditions.
• Troubleshoot hardware using schematics, wiring diagrams, scopes, meters and protocol tools.
• Analyze telemetry and logs to identify patterns and root causes.
• Perform microscopy, X-ray, cross‑sectioning and other FA techniques.
• Develop experiments to prove or disprove suspected failure mechanisms.
• Use fault-tree / 8D methods to isolate root causes.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams on corrective actions.
• Write clear failure‑analysis reports documenting configurations and results.

Skills

Schematic reading

Troubleshooting

Electrical testing

Hardware debugging

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics

Tools

Multimeters

Oscilloscopes

Power supplies

Logic analyzers

Microscopy / X-ray

Job description

Zipline in South San Francisco is seeking a Failure Analysis Engineer to investigate hardware failures in autonomous delivery systems. You will analyze flex circuits, PCBAs, connectors, and harnesses, working hands-on in the lab to derive evidence-based conclusions and drive improvements.

The role requires a bachelor’s degree in EE/ME/Materials Science/Physics or equivalent hands-on experience, plus proficiency with test equipment and data analysis.