Lead reliability engineering across product lifecycle for defense autonomous systems: perform FMEA/FTA, predictive reliability and Weibull analyses, develop and execute qualification and accelerated tests, drive failure investigations and CAPA, establish reliability processes, partner with cross-functional teams to ensure production readiness and maintainability.
Staff Reliability Engineer
(Contract-to-hire)
(Contract-to-hire)
Sigma Design has collaborated with a leading defense technology company seeking an experienced Staff Reliability Engineer to join their facility in Costa Mesa, CA. This company specializes in autonomous systems and next-generation defense technologies. This position is contract to hire and fully In-Office.
While on contract you are eligible for:
- Multiple options for medical insurance and dental insurance including some with FSA and HSA
- 401(k) with up to 4% company match
- 15-days of accrued PTO and 9 company paid holidays
- Quarterly bonus program
- Voluntary benefits: vision, long-term disability, and life insurance
- Monday – Friday, day shift
- $92.00 - $122.00 an hour. The hourly range for this role is an estimate based on multiple factors, including experience, education, training, skills, and business considerations. Actual compensation may vary based on the candidate’s qualifications and alignment with the role
Primary Function:
The Staff Reliability Engineer is responsible for leading reliability engineering efforts throughout the product lifecycle, from early concept development and design through manufacturing, production, and field deployment. This role drives reliability strategy, develops reliability processes and infrastructure, performs advanced analysis and testing, and partners cross-functionally to improve product performance, identify risks, and ensure robust, production-ready systems.
Essential Job Functions - Responsibilities:
- Lead reliability engineering activities across product development programs, supporting design, manufacturing, production, and field performance initiatives.
- Review system block diagrams, interface control documents, and schematics to evaluate compliance, redundancy, and alignment with system requirements.
- Lead Failure Modes & Effects Analysis (FMEA/FMECA) and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) efforts to identify risks and drive design improvements.
- Perform predictive reliability analyses, including MTTF/MTBF calculations, reliability modeling, and failure prediction using applicable industry standards.
- Develop and execute qualification, validation, environmental, life-cycle, and accelerated testing plans to verify product reliability and production readiness.
- Partner with engineering, manufacturing, quality, and test teams to improve assembly, integration, inspection, and testing processes.
- Develop maintainability prediction models and support preventative maintenance and sparing strategies.
- Perform Weibull analysis using qualification, production, and field data to identify failure trends and improve product reliability.
- Lead failure investigations, root cause analyses, and corrective/preventative actions (CAPA) for issues identified during development, production, and field operations.
- Support development milestone reviews by identifying reliability requirements, entry/exit criteria, and risks associated with transitioning products into production.
- Develop and implement standardized reliability processes, tools, and documentation to improve design, manufacturing, and deployment operations.
- Provide technical leadership and collaborate across engineering teams to drive continuous reliability improvements.
- Follow Business Technology policies to protect sensitive data and reduce information security occurrences.
Education and Experience: (Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities)
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, or an equivalent technical discipline required; Master’s degree preferred.
- Minimum of 12 years of relevant work experience as a Reliability Engineer, Design/Development Engineer, Test Engineer, or related engineering role preferred.
- Experience with safety-critical hardware and software systems, preferably within aerospace, defense, or other highly regulated industries.
- Experience establishing and implementing Reliability Engineering frameworks for products or programs, including production testing, field testing, data acquisition, and data analysis.
- Advanced knowledge of reliability engineering methodologies, including FMEA/FMECA, Fault Tree Analysis, predictive reliability modeling, and Weibull analysis.
- Experience developing and executing qualification testing requirements and reliability validation plans.
- Experience conducting failure investigations, root cause analysis, and implementing corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
- Experience supporting design reviews, including PDR, CDR, and MRR.
- Knowledge of reliability and environmental standards, including MIL-STD-810, MIL-HDBK-217, MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-516C, and MIL-STD-1629.
- Experience with MIL-HDBK-217Plus, MIL-HDBK-472, and MIL-STD-1916 preferred.
- Experience with Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) assessments, Manufacturing Review Boards (MRB), quality inspection, tooling, or calibration preferred.
- Experience with HALT (Highly Accelerated Life Testing), HASS (Highly Accelerated Stress Screening), environmental testing, and/or mechanical testing preferred.
- Experience with risk management, change control/change management reviews, and software/firmware HITL/SITL preferred.
- Strong technical writing, analytical, problem-solving, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
- Compliance (background check, ITAR, vaccine, etc.)
- ITAR - Permanent resident of the United States (“U.S. person” as defined by ITAR)
- Background - Pass a post-offer background verification.
Standard office environment with normal amounts of office related conditions. Occasionally may be required to work in environmental conditions that emulate typical user environments in order to facilitate design testing and validation. Occasionally may be required to travel as required to other facilities, clients, or suppliers.
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