Mechanical Reliability Engineer

The Mechanical Reliability Engineer provides technical leadership and reliability oversight across the full product lifecycle. This role evaluates design robustness, conducts early‑phase technical risk assessments, reviews qualification test plans and reports, and ensures manufacturing processes can consistently meet design intent. The engineer will also approve final qualification releases for new designs.

Additional responsibilities include supplier oversight, disposition of supplier and manufacturing non‑conformances, and serving as a subject matter expert for new product development, failure mode analysis, and high‑reliability engineering practices.

This position is critical to maintaining system reliability for high‑value, complex mechanical and electromechanical systems.

• Provide reliability leadership within Core Teams to ensure products meet reliability targets as designed
• Develop strategies for supplier selection and qualification of components, subsystems, and processes
• Manage technical interactions with key and strategic suppliers from a reliability perspective
• Identify and manage reliability, supply, and schedule risks
• Perform modeling and analysis of failure modes within areas of technical expertise
• Support responses to RFQs by supplying reliability data and assessments
• Drive initiatives that improve functionality, lead time, or cost while maintaining reliability
• Ensure all work aligns with company policies, procedures, and core values
• Conduct FIT rate analysis and technical risk assessments for design efforts
• Review manufacturing capability to ensure alignment with design intent
• Provide oversight for repairs, R&D activities, and design output reviews
• Serve as the qualification signatory for design approvals within the engineering cycle

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field
• 10+ years of relevant industry experience preferred
• Knowledge of reliability science principles
• Understanding of physics‑of‑failure mechanisms for mechanical and electromechanical components
• Ability to conduct FIT rate analysis and technical risk assessments
• Familiarity with Quality Management Systems and quality tools
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills; able to articulate complex ideas clearly and persuasively
• Ability to collaborate effectively across diverse teams, functions, and cultures

• Supports mission‑critical engineering functions with high accountability
• Backfills a key role previously held by senior internal staff
• Must understand timelines, cost of failure, and failure frequency for major systems
• Work involves systems valued in the millions, requiring strong ownership and precision
• Responsible for analyzing and maintaining reliability metrics, including:
• Failure rates
• Downtime minutes
• FIT rates (e.g., 10⁻⁹ hours, 140,000‑year reliability models)
• Every product requires calculation of design FIT rate and tracking of field performance
• Deep expertise in mechanical and electrical system failure mechanisms
• Team currently includes 5 staff; this role fills the mechanical SME gap
• Ideal background includes high‑reliability industries (aerospace, defense, medical devices, etc.)
• Must demonstrate strong capability across materials, mechanical systems, and reliability modeling
• Expected to participate in design cycles, bidding processes, numerical assessments, and downtime modeling
• Requires strong teamwork, listening skills, and cross‑functional communication