Reliability Engineering Manager

Overview

Location: Alhambra CA (Onsite)

Job Summary:

We are seeking a hands-on Reliability Engineering leader to establish, own, and execute reliability engineering for an InP-based III-V photonic semiconductor manufacturing operation producing optical amplifiers, laser diodes, and related photonic devices.

This role serves as the single source of truth for product performance, reliability, and wear-out behavior across new product introduction, qualification, and high-volume manufacturing. The position requires deep, practical expertise in compound III-V, particularly InP/In Ga As P material systems, degradation physics, accelerated life testing, and Telcordia GR-468 qualification, combined with strong technical leadership in a fab and assembly/test environment.

The role may be filled at the Manager or Sr Manager level, depending on experience and demonstrated scope. Regardless of level, this is expected to be a hands-on, player-coach role, performing substantial technical work directly. This is not a staffed organization today, and any team growth will be incremental and driven by business needs.

Reliability Leadership & Ownership (Hands-On at All Levels)

• Establish and lead the Reliability Engineering function for SPP
• Own reliability requirements, targets, and performance for all InP-based photonic products
• Serve as the authoritative owner of reliability data, conclusions, and risk assessments
• Define and maintain reliability specifications, qualification targets, MTFF / FIT goals, and end-of-life criteria, define and execute in-process testing and screening
• Set technical direction and personally review or execute critical analyses and conclusions

Telcordia Qualification & Accelerated Life Testing

• Hands-on planning, execution, analysis, and reporting of accelerated life tests (HTOL, aging, step-stress, etc.) per Telcordia GR-468
• Lead Telcordia qualification programs from initial strategy through customer acceptance
• Perform or directly oversee degradation modeling and life-test statistics
• Ensure technical rigor and defensibility of all qualification conclusions

Degradation Physics & Wear-Out Mechanisms

• Lead deep understanding of degradation physics specific to III-V (InP) compound semiconductor photonic devices
• Identify, model, and mitigate dominant wear-out mechanisms in lasers and optical amplifiers
• Correlate reliability behavior to material properties, epitaxial growth conditions, device design, and process variation
• Translate physics-based insight into concrete design, process, and screening actions

Yield Improvement, Failure Analysis & Corrective Action

• Lead hands-on yield and reliability improvement initiatives using structured methodologies:
  • Defect Pareto analysis
  • Wafer mapping and spatial correlation
  • Inline parametric data correlation across epitaxy, wafer fab, chip fabrication, and CoC assembly
• Perform or directly guide detailed failure analysis and root cause investigations
• Own 8D corrective actions for reliability issues, ensuring durable and verified closure
• Partner with Operations, R&D, and Corporate FA to drive prevention, not just containment

Customer Qualification & Interface

• Act as the primary reliability technical interface for customers
• Support customer qualification activities and audits
• Build, present, and defend reliability and Telcordia qualification data packages
• Own and deliver PPAP / PFMEA-type outputs tied to reliability and qualification expectations
• Provide credible, data-driven responses to customer reliability concerns

Data, Reporting & Executive Communication

• Develop dashboards and structured reporting for:
  • Reliability performance and trends
  • Yield loss mechanisms
  • Life-test and degradation behavior
• Communicate clear technical recommendations to executive leadership
• Influence decisions through data, modeling, and engineering judgment

Corporate Quality & FA Collaboration

• Align local reliability practices with Corporate Quality Systems
• Interface with Corporate Failure Analysis teams on escalated or complex issues
• Ensure consistency between SPP practices and corporate quality frameworks
• Support internal, external, and customer audits
• Act as the primary SPP reliability representative in…