Reliability Engineer (Robotics, UAV)

$95,000 - $135,000/Yr

Columbus Technologies And Services - Simi Valley, CA

Full-time - Mid Level

Simi Valley, CA

1,001-5,000 employees

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

About the position

The Reliability Engineer III position is a critical role within the High Altitude Pseudo Satellite Business Unit, focusing on the reliability of large solar-powered unmanned aircraft. This position requires collaboration with design and system engineers to plan and execute reliability activities that ensure the products meet stringent reliability, maintainability, and safety requirements. The role is hybrid, with an expectation of being on-site 70% of the time, and candidates must be local to Southern California to attend meetings at the facility in Simi Valley with minimal notice if needed. The position is a full-time direct employment opportunity, offering a competitive salary range of $95,000 to $135,000, along with bonuses and benefits. The salary is determined based on various factors, including work location, job-related skills, experience, and education. As a Reliability Engineer, you will be responsible for developing a Design for Reliability plan specifically tailored for solar aircraft. This includes creating reliability models to allocate targets for systems and components, performing system and component-level design Failure Mode and Effects Analyses (FMEAs) to assess design risks, and leading fault tree assessments to support System Safety Assessments and anomaly investigations. You will also facilitate anomaly investigations to identify root causes and corrective actions, manage the Failure Reporting, Analysis, and Corrective Action System (FRACAS), and plan and execute Accelerated Reliability Tests and Highly Accelerated Reliability Tests, reporting results to subject matter experts. Participation in design reviews and supporting proposal efforts are also key aspects of this role, along with occasional deployment for flight testing, which may require up to 15% travel.

Responsibilities

• Develop a Design for Reliability plan for solar aircraft.
• Develop reliability models to allocate reliability and maintainability targets for systems and components.
• Perform system and component level design FMEAs to assess design risks and identify risk mitigation actions.
• Provide design inputs to technical experts to improve product reliability and safety.
• Lead fault tree assessments to support System Safety Assessment and anomaly investigations.
• Facilitate anomaly investigation to identify the root cause and corrective actions.
• Manage Failure Reporting, Analysis, and Corrective Action System (FRACAS).
• Plan and execute Accelerated Reliability Tests and Highly Accelerated Reliability Tests and report the results to the subject matter experts.
• Participate in design reviews and support proposal efforts.
• Occasional deployment for flight testing may require up to 15% travel.

Requirements

• Experience with complex systems.
• Familiarity with complex system reliability modeling, FMEA, and Fault Tree Analysis.
• Experience leading failure investigations.
• Experience with planning and running component and system tests; test fixture design experience is a plus.
• Experience working with components, such as batteries, solar arrays, motors, composite structures, and avionics.
• A bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline is required, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
• 5 - 8 years of experience in reliability, electrical, systems, or mechanical engineering; an advanced degree in reliability-related disciplines could be substituted for some of the experience.
• Demonstrates full understanding & knowledge of engineering principles in the technical discipline.
• Has strong problem-solving, decision-making, analytical, and interpersonal skills.
• Good communication skills - technical presentation, meeting facilitation, and technical writing.

Nice-to-haves

• Is committed to learning from mistakes and driven to improve and enhance the performance of oneself, others, and the company.
• Takes ownership and responsibility for current and past work products.
• Consistently demonstrates teamwork and collaboration and puts the team's success above one's interests.
• Ability to excel in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment where small teams share a broad variety of duties.
• ReliaSoft, MiniTab, and Reliability Workbench software experience.

Benefits

• Full benefits package including health insurance, dental insurance, and retirement plans.