Reliability Engineering Manager

Avicena Tech; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Avicena Tech in Sunnyvale, CA seeks a Reliability Engineer to lead the qualification of optical engines used in transceiver products. You will own the reliability strategy for the optical engine, bridging optics with ASICs, and drive plans from design through production release.

The role requires building qualification plans, executing stringent tests (HTOL, temperature cycling, damp heat, ESD), analyzing data, and leading root-cause investigations to ensure robust field performance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in electrical engineering, optical engineering, physics, materials science, or related fields.
• 5+ years of experience in reliability engineering, with demonstrated experience across both optical components and integrated circuits.
• Hands-on experience building and executing qualification plans for optoelectronic or semiconductor products (transceivers, optical modules, or similar).
• Working knowledge of industry reliability standards (Telcordia GR-468-CORE, JEDEC, MIL-STD-883, AEC-Q100, or similar).
• Experience with reliability statistics: Weibull analysis, Arrhenius/activation energy modeling, accelerated life testing, FIT rate calculation.
• Strong failure analysis skills (or close collaboration experience with FA teams) — familiarity with tools/techniques such as decapsulation, SEM, EDX, curve tracing, etc.
• Excellent cross-functional communication skills; ability to translate technical risk into clear qualification decisions for engineering and customer audiences.

Responsibilities

• Own the qualification plan end-to-end: Design, document, and execute a comprehensive reliability qualification plan for optical engines designed for transceiver end products, aligned with industry standards and customer-specific requirements.
• Define test matrices: Determine stress tests and sample sizes based on failure mode analysis and statistical confidence targets.
• Bridge optics and IC domains: Evaluate reliability risks across the full optical engine and identify interaction effects between optical and electrical subsystems.
• Drive execution: Coordinate with test labs, manage sample builds, track test progress, and meet qualification milestones.
• Failure analysis: Lead root cause investigation for reliability failures with cross-functional teams to implement corrective actions.
• Data analysis & reporting: Analyze reliability data (Weibull, Arrhenius modeling, activation energy) to project field lifetime and prepare qualification reports.
• Continuous improvement: Feed lessons learned from qualification and field returns back into design and process guidelines.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Work with optical design, ASIC/IC design, packaging, manufacturing, and product/program management teams.

Skills

Reliability engineering

Statistical analysis

Root cause analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Test planning

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Electrical/Optical Engineering

Tools

SEM

EDX

Decapsulation

Job description

Job Title

Reliability Engineer / Reliability Engineering Manager

Job Description

We are seeking a Reliability Engineer to lead the qualification of optical engines used in our transceiver products. This role sits at the intersection of optics and semiconductor reliability, requiring someone who can build a qualification plan from the ground up, execute it rigorously, and drive it through to product release. You will own the reliability strategy for a critical subsystem - the optical engine - that combines optical components (lasers, photodetectors) with ASIC which includes driver and receiver circuits into a single functional block.

Responsibilities

• Own the qualification plan end-to-end: Design, document, and execute a comprehensive reliability qualification plan for optical engines designed for transceiver end products, aligned with industry standards (e.g., Telcordia GR-468, JEDEC JESD47/JESD22) and customer-specific requirements.
• Define test matrices: Determine appropriate stress tests (temperature cycling, high-temperature operating life (HTOL), damp heat, mechanical shock/vibration, ESD, moisture sensitivity, etc.) and sample sizes based on failure mode analysis and statistical confidence targets.
• Bridge optics and IC domains: Evaluate reliability risks across the full optical engine - from laser/LED/PD degradation mechanisms to driver IC, TIA, and CDR reliability - and identify interaction effects between optical and electrical subsystems.
• Drive execution: Coordinate with test labs (internal or external), manage sample builds, track test progress, and ensure qualification milestones are met on schedule.
• Failure analysis: Lead root cause investigation for reliability failures, working cross-functionally with design, process, and FA teams to implement corrective actions.
• Data analysis & reporting: Analyze reliability data (Weibull, Arrhenius modeling, activation energy extraction) to project field lifetime and failure rates (FIT rates); prepare qualification reports for internal stakeholders and customers.
• Continuous improvement: Feed lessons learned from qualification and field returns back into design and process guidelines to improve future optical engine reliability.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Work closely with optical design, ASIC/IC design, packaging, manufacturing, and product/program management teams throughout the product lifecycle.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in electrical engineering, Optical Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, or related fields.
• 5+ years of experience in reliability engineering, with demonstrated experience across both optical components and integrated circuits.
• Hands-on experience building and executing qualification plans for optoelectronic or semiconductor products (transceivers, optical modules, or similar).
• Working knowledge of industry reliability standards (Telcordia GR-468-CORE, JEDEC, MIL-STD-883, AEC-Q100, or similar).
• Experience with reliability statistics: Weibull analysis, Arrhenius/activation energy modeling, accelerated life testing, FIT rate calculation.
• Strong failure analysis skills (or close collaboration experience with FA teams) — familiarity with tools/techniques such as decapsulation, SEM, EDX, curve tracing, etc.
• Excellent cross-functional communication skills; ability to translate technical risk into clear qualification decisions for engineering and customer audiences.

Additional Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience with laser diode, LED, and photodetector reliability - degradation mechanisms (e.g., dark line defects, facet degradation, catastrophic optical damage, dark current drift).
• Experience qualifying transceiver modules (e.g., SFP, QSFP, OSFP form factors) or optical engines/TOSA-ROSA assemblies.
• Familiarity with driver IC, TIA, and CDR reliability considerations in a co-packaged or closely integrated optical-electrical system.
• Experience working with customers on qualification sign-off, including generating and defending qualification reports.
• Six Sigma, CRE (Certified Reliability Engineer), or equivalent certification.