Reliability Engineer, XFRA

SPAN; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Equity grants

Comprehensive benefits

Office near BART/Caltrain

Team-building events

Flexible hours

Job summary

SPAN is advancing XFRA, a dense GPU compute enclosure at outdoor residential/commercial sites. You own reliability for the XFRA node, set DFMEA/XFMEA targets, and define mission profiles for unattended operation across climates.

You will plan and drive reliability testing, analyze results with Weibull/DOE methods, and translate data into design improvements. Collaborate across mechanical, thermal, electrical, firmware, and certification teams to tighten robustness for real-world environments.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related field.
• 6+ years in reliability engineering with ownership of programs on complex electro-mechanical or thermal systems.
• Hands-on experience with FMEA/DFMEA, reliability test planning and execution, and statistical analysis of test data (Weibull, accelerated‑life models, DOE).
• Track record of translating lab or field data into design or process changes on products that operate outside controlled environments.
• Ability to work across mechanical, thermal, electrical, and firmware boundaries and communicate reliability implications clearly to design owners.

Responsibilities

• Own Design for Reliability (DFR) for the XFRA node and set targets and mission profiles for outdoor sites.
• Plan and drive reliability testing: thermal and power cycling, liquid-cooling loop durability, environmental stress, vibration, accelerated life methods.
• Analyze test and field data with statistical methods; convert results into design requirements, derating guidance, and corrective changes.
• Lead or guide root-cause investigations on prototype and early-field failures; drive concrete design or process changes.
• Collaborate with mechanical, thermal, electrical, firmware, and certification engineers on system-level risks.
• Support development of test methods and lab capability for outdoor liquid-cooled compute hardware; manage external test partners.
• Contribute to serviceability and maintainability targets for growing install base.

Skills

Reliability engineering

FMEA/DFMEA

Reliability testing

Statistical analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

B.S./M.S. in Mechanical, Electrical or Materials Science

Tools

Python

DOE

Job description

Our Mission

SPAN is enabling electrification for all

XFRA by SPAN is the first distributed data center using existing infrastructure and underutilized power capacity to meet expanding AI compute demand.

The Role

You will own reliability for the XFRA node—an outdoor, liquid-cooled dense GPU compute enclosure (roughly HVAC-scale) that sits at residential and small-commercial sites and uses building electrical headroom via a SPAN Panel. The node combines high-power GPUs and CPUs, a heat-pump liquid-cooling loop, battery storage, and modular serviceability. This is not a classic raised-floor data-center reliability role and not a consumer-product reliability role. You define what “reliable enough” means for unattended outdoor operation across climates (hot climates matter), generate the evidence that the design meets it, and close the loop from test and field data back into design and process.

Responsibilities

• Own Design for Reliability (DFR) for the XFRA node: set reliability targets and mission profiles for outdoor residential and commercial sites; create and maintain DFMEA/XFMEA across thermal, electrical, mechanical, fluid, and systems interfaces.

• Plan and drive reliability testing appropriate to the node: thermal and power cycling, liquid-cooling loop durability (coolant, seals, pumps, heat exchangers), environmental stress (temperature extremes, humidity, dust, UV), vibration, and accelerated life methods that map to real site conditions.

• Analyze test and early field data with statistical methods; convert results into design requirements, derating guidance, supplier actions, and corrective/preventive changes.

• Lead or guide root-cause investigations on prototype and early-field failures; ensure findings result in concrete design, component, or process changes.

• Collaborate with mechanical, thermal, electrical, firmware, and certification engineers on system-level risks (heat-pump cooling, battery integration, outdoor enclosure, SPAN Panel power interface, serviceability).

• Support development of test methods and lab capability for outdoor liquid-cooled compute hardware; manage external test partners where needed.

• Contribute to serviceability and maintainability targets so field repair remains practical as the install base grows.

About You

Required Qualifications

• BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related field.

• 6+ years in reliability engineering with clear ownership of programs on complex electro-mechanical or thermal systems.

• Hands‑on experience with FMEA/DFMEA, reliability test planning and execution, and statistical analysis of test data (Weibull, accelerated‑life models, DOE).

• Track record of translating lab or field data into design or process changes on products that operate outside controlled environments.

• Ability to work across mechanical, thermal, electrical, and firmware boundaries and communicate reliability implications clearly to design owners.

Bonus Qualifications

• Outdoor or harsh‑environment systems: liquid cooling, heat pumps, HVAC, energy storage, outdoor telecom/industrial equipment, or similar.

• Liquid‑cooling loop reliability (coolant chemistry, seals, pumps, heat exchangers) or high‑power electronics thermal management.

• Experience with dense compute, GPU servers, or power electronics outside traditional data‑center environments.

• Python or equivalent for data analysis and test automation.

• Hot‑climate or outdoor deployment experience.

• Familiarity with relevant environmental or reliability standards (IEC, UL, or prediction methods).

Life at SPAN

Headquartered in San Francisco’s vibrant SoMa neighborhood, we are an eclectic group of creative thinkers who value open communication, teamwork, and a ‘make it happen’ approach to addressing complex challenges.

SPAN embraces diversity and equal opportunity in a serious way. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills.

We’re hiring talented individuals who are driven by success and are passionate about shaping the future of renewable energy. If that sounds like you, we’d love for you to consider joining the rapidly growing team at SPAN.

The Perks:

• Competitive compensation + equity grants at a well‑funded, venture‑backed company
• Comprehensive benefits: 100% employee premiums for base plans on medical, dental, vision with options for additional coverage. Parental leave up to twenty four (24) weeks depending on eligibility
• Comfortable, sunny office space located near BART and Caltrain public transit
• Strong focus on team building and company culture: Employee Resource Groups, monthly social events, SPANcakes recognition breakfast, lunch, and learns
• Flexible hours, one holiday per month, and flexible time off