Senior Reliability Engineer Power Electronics

Actalent; Wauwatosa (WI); On-site; USD 100,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Actalent is seeking a hands‑on Reliability Engineer to establish and execute reliability strategies for advanced power electronics, industrial drives, motor controls, and EV powertrain test systems. You will develop life models, design accelerated tests, and oversee in‑house and external lab testing to derive design recommendations.

The role requires 5+ years in electronics reliability, strong statistical skills, and expertise with Telcordia SR‑332.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years in reliability engineering of electronics or semiconductors.
• Experience creating reliability test plans and applying statistical methods to electronic products.
• Strong knowledge of power electronics components and failure mechanisms.
• Ability to work safely around high-power equipment up to 690 Vac and 2000 Vdc.
• Experience coordinating failure analyses and root-cause investigations.

Responsibilities

• Develop reliability requirements, test strategies, and acceptance criteria.
• Design accelerated life, endurance, environmental, and reliability demonstration tests.
• Monitor and oversee laboratory testing and third-party testing.
• Perform reliability predictions using Telcordia SR-332 and related methods.
• Coordinate failure analysis including evidence, external labs, and corrective actions.
• Communicate reliability risks and recommendations to engineering and management.

Skills

Reliability engineering

Power electronics

Statistical methods

Weibull analysis

Failure analysis coordination

Education

B.S. in Electrical Engineering

M.S. in Electrical Engineering (preferred)

Tools

ReliaSoft

JMP

Minitab

MATLAB

Python

R

Job description

Job Title: Reliability Engineer Power Electronics

We are seeking a hands‑on Reliability Engineer to establish and execute reliability strategies for advanced power electronics, industrial drives, motor controls, regenerative power conversion systems, battery test equipment, and EV powertrain test systems. Our products include high‑power and high‑voltage systems used for battery cycling, battery emulation, inverter and motor testing, energy storage, variable frequency drives (VFDs), dynamometer test rigs, and various industrial applications. This role involves selecting appropriate reliability methods, developing quantitative life models, designing accelerated tests, monitoring testing in‑house and at third‑party laboratories, and translating test and field data into actionable design recommendations. Additionally, the position will coordinate failure analysis activities until a dedicated failure analysis function is established.

Responsibilities

• Develop product and component reliability requirements, plans, test strategies, and acceptance criteria.
• Select and specify appropriate reliability tests based on product architecture, component technologies, use conditions, failure mechanisms, and business risk.
• Design accelerated life, endurance, environmental, thermal cycling, power cycling, highly accelerated life testing, and reliability demonstration programs.
• Provide hands‑on setup, monitoring, data review, and technical oversight of testing performed in the laboratory.
• Define statements of work and provide technical oversight for testing conducted by third‑party laboratories.
• Develop mission profiles, reliability block diagrams, component stress analyses, life predictions, and system‑level reliability models.
• Perform detailed reliability predictions using Telcordia SR‑332 and other recognized industry methods to estimate electronic equipment failure rates and support system availability and downtime modeling.
• Apply statistical methods including Weibull analysis, life‑data analysis, accelerated life‑test modeling, confidence bounds, probability distributions, and reliability demonstration planning.
• Analyze laboratory, manufacturing, warranty, and field‑return data to estimate useful life, failure rates, MTBF, confidence levels, and reliability growth.
• Coordinate failure analysis, including investigation planning, evidence preservation, external laboratory support, root‑cause determination, and corrective‑action verification.
• Facilitate FMEA activities and identify critical components, design weaknesses, dominant failure mechanisms, and reliability risks.
• Collaborate with Product Development, Validation, Compliance, Quality, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain teams to improve product robustness.
• Support component qualification, supplier evaluation, derating guidelines, design reviews, and prototype‑to‑production transitions.
• Prepare clear technical reports and communicate reliability risks, assumptions, results, and recommendations to engineering and business stakeholders.

Essential Skills

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Reliability Engineering, Applied Statistics, or a closely related discipline.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in reliability engineering of electronics or semiconductors, preferably power electronics.
• Experience developing reliability test plans and applying statistical methods to electronic or power electronic products.
• Strong knowledge of power semiconductor, capacitor, magnetics, PCB, connector, cooling‑system, sheet‑metal fatigue and corrosion, and electromechanical failure mechanisms.
• Advanced competency in statistical analysis, life‑data modeling, reliability prediction, and technical data interpretation.
• Experience coordinating structured failure analysis and root‑cause investigations.
• Ability to work safely around high‑power electrical equipment, including systems operating at up to 690 Vac three‑phase and 2000 Vdc.
• Strong technical writing, project coordination, and cross‑functional communication skills.
• Ability for minimal travel to outside contracted test labs.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Reliability Engineering, Applied Statistics, or a closely related discipline.
• 710 years of experience in reliability engineering in power electronics.
• In‑depth experience with Telcordia SR‑332, including parts‑count, laboratory‑data, and field‑data prediction methods.
• Familiarity with IEC, FIDES, SN, and similar industry reliability prediction methods.
• Experience with Weibull analysis, accelerated life testing, Arrhenius models, inverse‑power‑law models, and reliability growth analysis.
• Experience with industrial drives (VFDs), inverters, converters, battery cyclers, regenerative test systems, renewable energy equipment, and/or EV powertrain systems.
• Familiarity with statistical and reliability software such as ReliaSoft, JMP, Minitab, MATLAB, Python, R, or equivalent tools.

Work Environment

The position is located in Franksville, WI, with the primary job location moving to Milwaukee in early 2027. The work schedule is first shift, from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday to Friday. The role requires collaboration with various teams, and a strong ability to communicate effectively in a dynamic work environme

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of Wauwatosa, WI.

Pay And Benefits

The pay range for this position is $100000.00 - $180000.00/yr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job‑related factors.

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in Wauwatosa,WI.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Oct 16, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email [e-mail] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.