Trailblazing NPI Hardware Reliability Engineer

Palo Alto Networks, Inc.

Austin (TX)

On-site

USD 108,000 - 175,000

Full time

14 days+

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Job summary

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is seeking an experienced NPI Hardware Reliability Engineer to join the Technical Operations Hardware Quality Engineering organization. The role drives reliability processes across the NPI lifecycle for next-gen network security and firewall platforms.

The ideal candidate will have deep hardware reliability, product qualification, failure analysis, and manufacturing experience, translating reliability requirements into practical validation and production controls.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Reliability Engineering, or a related technical field.
5+ years of experience in hardware reliability, product quality, NPI, manufacturing engineering, or a related discipline.
Experience with reliability qualification and validation of complex electronic hardware.
Strong understanding of hardware failure mechanisms and reliability engineering principles.
Experience working with contract manufacturers and external suppliers.
Experience with NPI processes and production ramp of complex electronic products.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Experience with structured root-cause and failure-analysis methodologies.
Ability to interpret engineering drawings, schematics, BOMs, specifications, and manufacturing documentation.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

Own and execute the NPI hardware reliability strategy, milestones, and phase-gate qualification plans from early development through production ramp.
Partner with Hardware Engineering to assess architecture, design changes, and BOMs to identify risks early in the product lifecycle.
Define and execute accelerated life, stress, and environmental test plans, setting sample sizes, conditions, and pass/fail criteria.
Analyze test data and trends to validate product readiness against defined reliability targets prior to commercial release.
Lead root-cause failure investigations across NPI testing, pilot builds, and early production using structured methods (8D, FMEA, FTA, DOE, Weibull).
Collaborate with Design, Manufacturing, Supplier Quality, and CMs to implement, validate, and track corrective actions.
Feed field and post-mortem learnings back into early NPI cycles to prevent recurring failure modes.
Assess supplier and manufacturing reliability risks during EVT, DVT, and PVT builds, auditing critical processes, materials, and component qualifications.
Establish quality controls, test coverage, and containment protocols for critical hardware components and sub-assemblies.
Define NPI reliability metrics, statistical models, and dashboards to communicate risks to executive leadership.
Act as the Technical Operations SME for hardware reliability, partnering with cross-functional engineering, program management, and external CM partners.
Build, standardize, and scale the NPI Hardware Reliability framework across multi-hardware platforms.