Failure Analysis Engineer - Hardware & Materials Specialist

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

Job summary

Zipline, based in South San Francisco, seeks a Failure Analysis specialist to own investigations of hardware failures from intake to conclusion, determine failure mechanisms, preserve evidence, and drive corrective actions with design, manufacturing and reliability teams.

You will apply advanced materials characterization techniques and first-principles reasoning to improve product reliability and fleet health, coordinating with external labs as needed.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience in Failure Analysis and Materials Science.
• Ability to independently investigate hardware failures from physical evidence.
• Experience with optical microscopy, SEM/EDS, CT/X-ray and related techniques.
• Understanding of fracture, fatigue, corrosion, wear and other failure mechanisms.
• Expertise in FA of at least one material class (metals, polymers, coatings, etc.).
• Ability to design investigations from first principles.
• Experience developing lab methods, documentation, and FA processes.
• Experience collaborating with external analytical labs and suppliers.

Responsibilities

• Lead evidence-based investigations of failures; determine mechanism and confidence.
• Own FA cases from intake to conclusion with documentation and communication.
• Preserve physical evidence using optical, SEM/EDS, CT, FTIR, cross-sectioning, metallography, testing.
• Identify mechanisms such as fatigue, overload, corrosion, wear, embrittlement, etc.
• Develop standardized FA workflows and nomenclature.
• Build centralized FA knowledge to track mechanisms across programs.
• Partner with design, manufacturing, reliability, supplier quality, test, systems, and operations.
• Review proposed corrective actions with evidence.
• Drive measurable outcomes in investigations quality and action closure.

Skills

Failure Analysis

Materials Science

Materials Engineering

Independent Investigation

Materials Characterization

Failure Mechanisms

Materials Expertise

First Principles

Laboratory Methods

External Labs

Tools

Optical microscopy

SEM/EDS

Metallography

Cross-sectioning

CT/X-ray inspection

FTIR

Hardness testing

Mechanical testing

DSC

TGA

Job description

Zipline, based in South San Francisco, seeks a Failure Analysis specialist to own investigations of hardware failures from intake to conclusion, determine failure mechanisms, preserve evidence, and drive corrective actions with design, manufacturing and reliability teams.

You will apply advanced materials characterization techniques and first-principles reasoning to improve product reliability and fleet health, coordinating with external labs as needed.