RELIABILITY LEAD

Vertage Inc.; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Apptronik is seeking its first dedicated Reliability Lead to establish, scale, and own reliability across next-generation robotics platforms. This is a leadership-level IC role where you will define reliability strategy, build processes from the ground up, and drive product robustness throughout development.

The ideal candidate has a proven history leading reliability programs for complex electro-mechanical systems, robotics, automotive platforms, or aerospace-grade technology.

Qualifications

• MTBF modeling & allocation expertise.
• Reliability prediction methodologies.
• Weibull analysis expertise.
• FRACAS implementation experience.
• HALT/HASS testing experience.
• Life testing & accelerated testing methods.

Responsibilities

• Establish and lead company-wide reliability engineering processes.
• Define reliability goals, growth plans, and validation strategies for robotic systems.
• Develop MTBF allocations and reliability requirements at system and subsystem levels.
• Own reliability planning, execution, and reporting through product development.
• Design and execute life testing, reliability growth testing, HALT/HASS testing.
• Lead cross-functional root cause investigations and FRACAS.
• Drive corrective actions to improve field reliability.
• Partner with engineering, manufacturing, quality, and PM teams.

Skills

Reliability leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Data-driven decision making

Problem solving

Technical communication

Education

Bachelor's degree with 15+ years experience

Master's degree with 13+ years experience

PhD with 12+ years experience

Tools

FRACAS system

Weibull analysis

MTBF modeling

HALT/HASS testing

Job description

Reliability Lead (Senior Staff / IC7-IC8)

Location: Austin, TX

Position Type: Full-Time

About the Role

Apptronik is seeking its first dedicated Reliability Lead to establish, scale, and own reliability engineering across next-generation robotics platforms. This is a highly visible leadership-level individual contributor role where you will define the reliability strategy, build reliability processes from the ground up, and drive product robustness throughout the development lifecycle.

The ideal candidate has a proven history of leading reliability programs for complex electro-mechanical systems, autonomous platforms, automotive products, robotics, aerospace systems, or similar high-reliability technologies.

Experience Requirements

• Bachelor's degree with 15+ years of experience, OR
• Master's degree with 13+ years of experience, OR
• PhD with 12+ years of experience
• Exceptional candidates with highly impactful reliability achievements will be considered regardless of exact years of experience.

Key Responsibilities

Reliability Strategy & Program Leadership

• Establish and lead company-wide reliability engineering processes and methodologies.
• Define reliability goals, reliability growth plans, and validation strategies for robotic systems.
• Develop MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) allocations and reliability requirements at system and subsystem levels.
• Own reliability planning, execution, and reporting throughout product development.

Reliability Testing & Analysis

• Design and execute:
• Life testing
• Reliability growth testing
• Accelerated life testing
• HALT (Highly Accelerated Life Testing)
• HASS (Highly Accelerated Stress Screening)
• Determine appropriate:
• Statistical confidence levels
• Reliability demonstration plans

Failure Analysis & Root Cause Investigation

• Lead cross-functional root cause investigations involving:
• Mechanical systems
• Electrical systems
• Firmware/software interactions
• Implement and manage FRACAS (Failure Reporting, Analysis, and Corrective Action System).
• Drive corrective and preventive actions that improve product performance and field reliability.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner closely with engineering, manufacturing, quality, and program management teams.
• Influence product design decisions based on reliability data and risk assessment.
• Communicate reliability risks and mitigation strategies to leadership and stakeholders.

Building the Reliability Function

• Operate autonomously as the subject matter expert for reliability engineering.
• Define reliability metrics, dashboards, and best practices.
• Build scalable frameworks that support future growth of the reliability organization.

Required Qualifications

Technical Expertise

• Deep expertise in:
• MTBF modeling and allocation
• Reliability prediction methodologies
• Weibull analysis
• Reliability demonstration testing
• Statistical reliability methods
• FRACAS implementation
• HALT/HASS testing
• Life testing and accelerated testing methodologies
• Experience supporting complex electromechanical products such as:
• Robotics
• Autonomous systems
• Automotive platforms
• Aerospace systems
• Advanced hardware products

Leadership & Execution

• Proven ability to independently build and lead reliability programs.
• Strong track record of delivering measurable reliability improvements.
• Demonstrated excellence in technical leadership and problem-solving.
• Comfortable defining requirements, asking the right questions, and creating processes where none exist.

Preferred Qualifications

• Career progression demonstrating strong upward growth, ideally:
• Multiple promotions within short timeframes
• Increasing technical and organizational responsibility
• Experience leading reliability organizations or serving as Head of Reliability.
• Background from companies known for world-class hardware reliability programs such as:
• Tesla
• Rivian
• Zoox
• Waymo
• Agility Robotics
• SpaceX
• Anduril
• Apple
• Experience with robotics platforms is highly desirable.