Principal Quality Assurance Engineer

Renesas Electronics; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 225,000; Full time

Job summary

Renesas Electronics is seeking a Principal Quality Engineer to drive disciplined quality execution across advanced semiconductor technologies. You will lead highly demanding customer engagements, manage escalations, and translate customer expectations into actionable internal plans with clear ownership.

You will also partner with internal teams to drive rapid containment, corrective action, and executive-level communication, while mentoring cross-functional partners on structured problem solving

Qualifications

• Experience supporting demanding strategic or executive-level customers in a customer-facing technical quality role.
• Ability to manage high-visibility customer escalations with urgency, clarity, ownership, and disciplined follow-through.
• Expertise in structured problem solving, root cause analysis, containment, corrective action, effectiveness verification, and customer communication.
• Strong knowledge of semiconductor manufacturing processes, including wafer fab, assembly, test, reliability, failure analysis, and supplier quality interactions.
• Excellent executive communication skills with the ability to present concise technical conclusions, risks, options, and recommended actions

Responsibilities

• Customer Quality Technical Leadership: act as the technical quality interface for highly demanding strategic customers and lead quality engagements and escalations.
• Own customer quality performance analysis including PPM, RMA, failure analysis requests, audits, scorecards and trends.
• Prepare concise, data-backed technical quality updates for escalation meetings and leadership reviews.
• Translate customer requirements into actionable internal priorities with owners, timing, risks, and closure criteria.
• Cross-Functional Influence & Mentorship: provide technical leadership and guidance to cross-functional partners on customer quality expectations and problem solving.

Education

BSEE

MSEE acceptable

Equivalent experience

Tools

Semiconductor processes knowledge

Job description

Renesas Electronics is looking for a Principal Quality Engineer to support highly demanding strategic customers by driving disciplined technical quality execution across advanced semiconductor technologies. This role serves as a trusted customer-facing quality expert, leading complex escalations, translating customer expectations into internal execution plans, and strengthening customer confidence through clear communication, data-driven analysis, and measurable quality improvement.

The Principal Quality Engineer will operate at both technical and customer-engagement levels, partnering with internal stakeholders and customer teams to manage high-visibility quality concerns, anticipate customer risk, drive rapid containment and corrective action, and ensure consistent executive-level communication without direct people-management responsibility.

Responsibilities:

Customer Quality Technical Leadership

Act as the technical quality interface for highly demanding strategic customers, leading quality engagements, technical reviews, executive updates, and complex escalations.

Own customer quality performance analysis, including PPM, RMA, Failure Analysis Requests, audits, scorecards, recurring quality trends, and customer-specific improvement plans

Prepare and present concise, data-backed technical quality updates for escalation meetings and internal leadership reviews.

Translate customer requirements, concerns, and quality expectations into actionable internal priorities with clear owners, timing, risks, and closure criteria

Cross-Functional Influence & Mentorship

Provide technical leadership, coaching, and guidance to cross-functional partners on customer quality expectations and structured problem solving

Coordinate priorities across customers, products, and escalations to ensure timely and effective quality execution

Develop and promote best practices for customer engagement, issue resolution, communication consistency, and quality documentation

Drive end-to-end resolution of complex customer quality issues, from immediate containment through root cause, corrective action, effectiveness verification, and customer closure

Lead urgency-driven cross-functional investigations across fab, assembly/test, R&D, product engineering, supply chain, and supplier quality using structured problem-solving methodologies

Manage sensitive customer escalations with disciplined communication cadence, fact-based status reporting, risk assessment, and executive-ready summaries

Strategic Improvement & Influence

Partner with internal leadership to influence design-for-quality, process robustness, reliability strategies, and customer-specific quality improvement roadmaps

Use customer feedback, field data, failure analysis learnings, and quality metrics to identify systemic gaps, reduce recurrence, and improve customer perception of Renesas quality execution

Drive proactive risk reviews for critical customer applications, including readiness for audits, quality reviews, reliability concerns, and product change communications

Qualifications

Qualifications:

Experience supporting demanding strategic or executive-level customers in a customer-facing technical quality role

Demonstrated ability to manage high-visibility customer escalations with urgency, clarity, ownership, and disciplined follow-through

Expertise in structured problem solving, root cause analysis, containment, corrective action, effectiveness verification, and customer communication

Strong knowledge of semiconductor manufacturing processes, including wafer fab, assembly, test, reliability, failure analysis, and supplier quality interactions

Excellent executive communication skills with the ability to present concise technical conclusions, risks, options, and recommended actions

Ability to influence cross-functional teams without direct authority and align global stakeholders around customer-critical deliverables

Available to support domestic and international business travel for customer meetings, audits, quality reviews, and escalation support

Education:

10+ years of relevant experience with BSEE, or 8+ years of relevant experience with MSEE, or equivalent technical experience

Customer Quality, Product Engineering, Reliability Engineering, Failure Analysis, or related semiconductor quality experience supporting strategic customers, business units, and cross-functional escalation teams.

Additional Information

The expected annual pay range for this position is $180K-225K. This position is also eligible for bonus opportunities. Please note that final offer amount will be dependent on geographic location, applicable experience, and skillset of the candidate. we put in the additional information

Renesas is an embedded semiconductor solution provider driven by its Purpose, To Make Our Lives Easier. With a global team of over 21,000 engineers and problem solvers in more than 30 countries, we offer the opportunity to work on world‑leading technology for Automotive, Industrial, Infrastructure, and IoT, shaping a safer, healthier, greener, and smarter future.

At Renesas, TAGIE is our culture, grounded in being Transparent, Agile, Global, Innovative, and Entrepreneurial. It shapes how we work, grow and deliver on our purpose together. This collaborative spirit and mindset drive our semiconductor technology to transform industries and impact millions of lives.

We believe in rewarding our employees with a competitive benefits package alongside their salary. More information will be provided during the hiring process.

Are you ready to join our team and shape the future with us?

Renesas Electronics is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, committed to supporting diversity and fostering a work environment free of discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, military status, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. For more information, please read our Diversity & Inclusion Statement .

Renesas Electronics deals with dual-use technology that is subject to U.S. export controls regulations. Under these regulations it may be necessary for Renesas to obtain U.S. government export license prior to release of technology to certain persons. The decision whether or not to file or pursue an export license application is at the sole discretion of Renesas.