Senior/Staff Design Reliability Engineer - Sensor, Compute and EE Systems

Zoox; Foster City (CA); On-site; USD 187,000 - 246,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

ASQ Certification recognized

ISO 26262 familiarity

Job summary

Zoox is seeking a senior Reliability Engineer to lead risk-based design, testing, and field feedback across autonomous vehicle hardware and software. You will set targets for sensors, AI compute, and ECUs, drive DFMEA, and define PHM strategies while collaborating with cross-functional teams.

You will guide fault-tolerance strategies, oversee virtual and physical validation plans, and translate reliability risks into actionable monitoring and maintenance improvements.

Qualifications

• Masters-level engineering or similar technical degree with 10+ years hands on experience in Reliability Engineering.
• Deep understanding of sensors, high-performance computers, and ECUs, and typical failure modes and test methods.
• Strong background in reliability data analysis, risk assessment, and setting component targets.
• Experience in failure mode assessment, accelerated reliability testing, and field reliability monitoring concepts.
• Proven ability to lead and coach a high-caliber engineering team toward reliability.

Responsibilities

• Set reliability targets and cascade them to subsystem budgets across sensors, AI compute, and ECUs.
• Drive cross-functional DFMEA and risk mitigation plans.
• Lead design mitigations with redundancy and safe modes for fault tolerance.
• Prove designs via virtual and physical tests and track V&V results.
• Define PHM strategy for sensors, compute, and EE systems.
• Operationalize reliability risks into monitoring and maintenance recommendations.
• Close loop with field data to drive design improvements.

Skills

Reliability engineering

Sensors & ECUs knowledge

Reliability data analysis

Team leadership

Education

Master's degree in engineering

Tools

FMEA

DFMEA

Safety analysis tools

Job description

At Zoox, we have set the goal to provide our customers with the highest level of safety and a best-in-class experience while using our fully autonomous vehicles. You will work with a team of world-class engineers with diverse backgrounds, such as robotics, control, and vehicle engineering, to deliver vehicle performance using virtual tools and methodologies. In taking on the virtual and physical durability development, you will work in predicting where the vehicle is within its lifespan and providing maintenance scenarios and optimization strategies.

In this role, you will:

• Set reliability and availability targets. Define top-level hardware availability targets from market requirements and build consensus across product, feature, operations, vehicle engineering, software, and autonomy. Cascade those targets into subsystem and component-level failure budgets for sensors (LiDAR, radar, camera), AI compute, and ECUs, working directly with component owners and the Advanced Hardware and Vehicle Systems Engineering EE teams.
• Drive the FMEA process. Drive cross-functional System DFMEA and Supportability FMEA to identify failure mechanisms, system-interaction failure modes, and preventative maintenance opportunities. Define risk classification, FMEA methodology, and mitigation plans.
• Drive design mitigations. Partner with hardware and firmware architects on redundancy, thermal management, derating guidelines, and software-level degraded/safe modes, identifying where fault tolerance and fail-operational behavior are needed to support the autonomy safety case.
• Prove out designs through test. Using reliability targets, DFMEA outputs, and physics-of-failure principles, partner with validation engineers on virtual and physical test plans combining multi-variable stressors (thermal, vibration, electrical loading, firmware states). Oversee early ALT to establish design margins, latent defects, and acceleration parameters for architectural trade studies. Track and report results in V&V reports.
• Define PHM strategy for sensors, compute, and EE systems: available signals, health indicators, degradation models, and failure precursors enabling early fault detection and remaining-useful-life estimation.
• Operationalize PHM with software, data, and systems teams across vehicle and backend pipelines, translating reliability risks into monitoring, alerting, and maintenance recommendations.
• Close the loop with field data. Use current-fleet telemetry and PHM insights to find improvement opportunities and drive corrective action across design, validation, and operations, feeding lessons learned back into next-gen design.

Qualifications

• Masters-level engineering or similar technical degree with 10+ years hands on experience in Reliability Engineering
• Detailed understanding of relevant sensors, high-performance computers, and ECUs, and typical failure modes and test methods for these components
• Deep understanding of reliability data analysis and risk assessment, and how to develop component reliability targets based on functional safety and business objectives
• Experience in failure mode assessment, accelerated reliability testing, and advanced field reliability monitoring concepts
• Personable with the ability to lead and coach a high-caliber engineering team toward world-class levels of reliability/dependability

Bonus Qualifications

• ASQ Certified Reliability Engineer, or similar professional recognition
• An understanding of ISO 26262 Functional Safety

$187,000 - $246,000 a year

Base Salary Range

There are three major components to compensation for this position: salary, Amazon Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), and Zoox Stock Appreciation Rights. A sign-on bonus may be offered as part of the compensation package. The listed range applies only to the base salary. Compensation will vary based on geographic location and level. Leveling, as well as positioning within a level, is determined by a range of factors, including, but not limited to, a candidate's relevant years of experience, domain knowledge, and interview performance. The salary range listed in this posting is representative of the range of levels Zoox is considering for this position.

Zoox also offers a comprehensive package of benefits, including paid time off (e.g. sick leave, vacation, bereavement), unpaid time off, Zoox Stock Appreciation Rights, Amazon RSUs, health insurance, long-term care insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance, and life insurance.

About Zoox

Zoox is developing the first ground-up, fully autonomous vehicle fleet and the supporting ecosystem required to bring this technology to market. Sitting at the intersection of robotics, machine learning, and design, Zoox aims to provide the next generation of mobility-as-a-service in urban environments. We're looking for top talent that shares our passion and wants to be part of a fast-moving and highly execution-oriented team.

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Accommodations

If you need an accommodation to participate in the application or interview process please reach out to [e-mail] or your assigned recruiter.

A Final Note:

You do not need to match every listed expectation to apply for this position. Here at Zoox, we know that diverse perspectives foster the innovation we need to be successful, and we are committed to building a team that encompasses a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills.