Senior Data Center Hardware Reliability Engineer

OpenAI; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 226,000 - 285,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenAI is seeking an experienced Hardware Reliability lead in San Francisco to own end-to-end data-center quality across 3P infrastructure and 1P platforms. You will turn field failures into quantified risk, drive containment, and spearhead root-cause analysis with 8D/CAPA processes.

You will build scalable telemetry and governance, define key reliability metrics, and mentor next-gen Field Quality Engineers as the team grows, partnering with MQE and NPI to ensure durable upstream changes.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in hardware quality/reliability, server/rack systems, or mission-critical infrastructure.
• 3+ years owning field-failure, RMA, or CAPA outcomes.
• Hands‑on FMEA/FTA, accelerated or reliability‑demonstration testing, 8D/CAPA, FA, and corrective‑action verification.
• Working proficiency with SQL and Python/R or equivalent analytics tools.
• Ability to influence design, validation, operations, suppliers/CMs, and senior leaders without direct authority.

Responsibilities

• Build and govern the field-quality data model across telemetry, tickets, RMA/repair, FA, firmware, configuration, supplier, and manufacturing genealogy.
• Define AFR, ASR, DPPM, MTBF/MTTR, repeat-repair, NTF, repair-cycle-time, and forecast-versus-actual metrics with explicit denominators and uncertainty.
• Provide fleet-level macro views and unit/FRU/cohort-level micro views; detect shifts and bound affected populations.
• Lead systemic field-failure triage, containment, failure analysis, 8D/CAPA, risk assessment, corrective-action verification, and recurrence monitoring.
• Develop cohort, life-data, reliability-growth, and spare-demand projections by product, FRU, supplier, configuration, geography, and age.
• Partner with MQE and NPI to convert field mechanisms into manufacturing-test coverage, screening/stress profiles, diagnostics, control plans, DFR/DFS requirements, FMEA/FTA, mission profiles, FRU strategy, and qualification gates.
• Close the loop by verifying whether upstream changes reduce field recurrence.

Skills

SQL

Python/R

Education

BS in electrical, mechanical, computer, materials, reliability engineering, physics, or equivalent experience; MS preferred

Job description

OpenAI is seeking an experienced Hardware Reliability lead in San Francisco to own end-to-end data-center quality across 3P infrastructure and 1P platforms. You will turn field failures into quantified risk, drive containment, and spearhead root-cause analysis with 8D/CAPA processes.

You will build scalable telemetry and governance, define key reliability metrics, and mentor next-gen Field Quality Engineers as the team grows, partnering with MQE and NPI to ensure durable upstream changes.