Hardware Reliability Engineer - Ecosystem

Apple Inc.; Cupertino (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 278,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical and dental coverage

Retirement benefits

Product discounts

Tuition reimbursement

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Apple Inc. in Cupertino, California, is seeking a Hardware Reliability Engineer to partner with ecosystem hardware teams from concept to mass production. You will design reliability tests, quantify risks, and drive corrective actions to ensure product durability across iPad accessories and related devices.

You will lead failure analysis, develop robust test plans, and communicate risks to executives while collaborating with design, manufacturing, and quality teams to deliver reliable products.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a hardware-focused field with 3+ years of industry experience.
• Experience with mechanical stress tests (shock/drop/vibration) and environmental testing.
• Proficient in Keynote, PowerPoint, Excel; strong communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Developing new reliability tests procedures and specifications
• Preparing concise and detailed test plans and analyzing test reports
• Statistically analyzing data to provide design risk assessments
• Presenting tests, test results, and risk assessments to cross-functional and leadership teams
• Researching new technologies to understand unique failure mechanisms
• Guiding design and interfacing with diverse groups to improve product reliability
• Investigating failures during reliability testing to identify root causes and mitigations

Skills

Reliability testing

Failure analysis

Statistical analysis

Design of Experiments

Presentation skills

AI tools

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in ME/EE/CE

Tools

Weibull

JMP

Optical Microscopy

X-ray/CT

SEM/EDS

Job description

Hardware Reliability Engineer – Ecosystem

Cupertino, California, United States Hardware

We are looking for you to work with our diverse ecosystem hardware engineering teams! As the Reliability team, we are responsible for ensuring and improving the durability and reliability of Apple's products. To achieve that, we partner with multiple engineering teams from the beginning (concept) to the end (field returns) of a product lifecycle by helping to explore new technologies and understand how customers will use our products. If you have a passion for constant learning and innovative engineering products, you will fit right in. You will develop and implement creative reliability tests on new hardware programs, quantify reliability risk, support failure analysis resulting from these tests, and advise the executive team on the best path forward. Our work ensures that our products meet the rigorous expectations of our customers and survive whatever our customers can throw at them – we break things so you don’t have to. Come join our team!Our team works specifically on iPad accessories and input devices – products such as Keyboards, Folios, Pencils, etc, and the interactions these products have with their respective systems. We work closely with the design, manufacturing, and quality teams to evaluate the performance of our products through the suite of reliability tests that we design and use these results to motivate design and process changes iteratively to ultimately deliver better products to our customers. We have a hand in every softgoods product that is released and both design the tests and analyze the test results to suite each products’ specific use cases and product definitions.

Description

You will be responsible for ensuring our products meet the rigorous expectations of our customers and survive what life may throw at them. To do so, you will be working with cross-functional teams from concept to mass production to identify risks in the design, develop tests to evaluate the performance of the product with regards to those concerns, work with the team to understand failures, and recommend and verify the efficacy of the corresponding corrective actions. You will need to rigorously justify your tests with well characterized user behaviors and thorough understanding of field stresses, and a strong technical background to not only participate in failure analysis (FA), but also drive FA and lead the team through complex problem solving. We will push the performance of our products to the limits of the material and design, and in those cases, you will need to prepare comprehensive risk assessments to fully quantify any field exposure we may have.

Responsibilities

• Developing new reliability tests procedures and specifications
• Preparing concise and detailed test plans and analyzing test reports
• Statistically analyzing data to provide design risk assessments
• Presenting tests, test results, and risk assessments in a confident and positive manner to the cross-functional and leadership teams
• Researching new technologies to understand unique failure mechanisms
• Guiding design and interacting with diverse groups to improve product reliability
• Investigating failures during reliability testing to determine root cause and drive mitigations

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in a hardware-focused field (ME, MS, CE, EE, etc.) with 3+ years of industry experience
• Experience performing product characterization including mechanical stress tests, shock/drop/vibration testing, environmental testing, etc.
• Proven written and verbal communication skills
• Proficiency in iWork and Microsoft Office, including but not limited to Keynote, Powerpoint, Excel, etc.

Preferred Qualifications

• Statistical experience such as Weibull, JMP, or familiarity with accelerated test models
• Familiar with Failure Analysis techniques (Optical Microscopy, X-ray/CT, Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy, etc.), and the ability to use failure analysis methodology to derive a root cause of failure
• Understanding of Design of Experiments
• Imaginative approach to Failure Modes and Effects Analysis
• Ability to make clear and concise slides and presentations when vital
• Ability to use AI tools to improve work efficiency.
• Strong attention to detail and curiosity of how technologies work
• Collaborative attitude and ability to cross-functionally work effectively
• Ability to travel internationally without restrictions (up to 10%)
• Curiosity about how technologies work.

At Apple, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay range for this role is between $150,400 and $277,600, and your base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location. Apple employees also have the opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple’s discretionary employee stock programs. Apple employees are eligible for discretionary restricted stock unit awards, and can purchase Apple stock at a discount if voluntarily participating in Apple’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You’ll also receive benefits including: Comprehensive medical and dental coverage, retirement benefits, a range of discounted products and free services, and for formal education related to advancing your career at Apple, reimbursement for certain educational expenses — including tuition. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation. Learn more about Apple Benefits

• Comprehensive medical and dental coverage
• retirement benefits
• a range of discounted products and free services
• for formal education related to advancing your career at Apple, reimbursement for certain educational expenses — including tuition
• discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation

Note: Apple benefit, compensation and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms of the applicable plan or program.

Apple is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. We seek to promote equal opportunity for all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. Learn more about your EEO rights as an applicant

At Apple, we believe accessibility is a fundamental human right. You’ll find that idea reflected in everything here — in our culture, our benefits and our digital tools. By welcoming as many perspectives as possible, we help you build a career where you feel like you belong.

Apple accepts applications to this posting on an ongoing basis.