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# Reliability Engineer

- **Company:** Span, Incorporated
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA, United States
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Data Analysis, Automation of Tests, Data Centers, Microprocessors, Firmware, Failure Mode Effects Analysis, Python (Programming Language), Reliability Engineering, Software Reliability Testing, Test Data, Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)
- **Published:** November 10, 2026
- **Apply:** https://startup.jobs/reliability-engineer-xfra-span-io-10723702

## About the Role

* BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related field.
 * 6+ years in reliability engineering with clear ownership of programs on complex electro-mechanical or thermal systems.
 * Hands-on experience with FMEA/DFMEA, reliability test planning and execution, and statistical analysis of test data (Weibull, accelerated-life models, DOE).
 * Track record of translating lab or field data into design or process changes on products that operate outside controlled environments.
 * Ability to work across mechanical, thermal, electrical, and firmware boundaries and communicate reliability implications clearly to design owners., * Outdoor or harsh-environment systems: liquid cooling, heat pumps, HVAC, energy storage, outdoor telecom/industrial equipment, or similar.
 * Liquid-cooling loop reliability (coolant chemistry, seals, pumps, heat exchangers) or high-power electronics thermal management.
 * Experience with dense compute, GPU servers, or power electronics outside traditional data-center environments.
 * Python or equivalent for data analysis and test automation.
 * Hot-climate or outdoor deployment experience.
 * Familiarity with relevant environmental or reliability standards (IEC, UL, or prediction methods).

## Description

You will own reliability for the XFRA node-an outdoor, liquid-cooled dense GPU compute enclosure (roughly HVAC-scale) that sits at residential and small-commercial sites and uses building electrical headroom via a SPAN Panel. The node combines high-power GPUs and CPUs, a heat-pump liquid-cooling loop, battery storage, and modular serviceability. This is not a classic raised-floor data-center reliability role and not a consumer-product reliability role. You define what "reliable enough" means for unattended outdoor operation across climates (hot climates matter), generate the evidence that the design meets it, and close the loop from test and field data back into design and process., * Own Design for Reliability (DFR) for the XFRA node: set reliability targets and mission profiles for outdoor residential and commercial sites; create and maintain DFMEA/XFMEA across thermal, electrical, mechanical, fluid, and systems interfaces.

 * Plan and drive reliability testing appropriate to the node: thermal and power cycling, liquid-cooling loop durability (coolant, seals, pumps, heat exchangers), environmental stress (temperature extremes, humidity, dust, UV), vibration, and accelerated life methods that map to real site conditions.
 * Analyze test and early field data with statistical methods; convert results into design requirements, derating guidance, supplier actions, and corrective/preventive changes.
 * Lead or guide root-cause investigations on prototype and early-field failures; ensure findings result in concrete design, component, or process changes.
 * Collaborate with mechanical, thermal, electrical, firmware, and certification engineers on system-level risks (heat-pump cooling, battery integration, outdoor enclosure, SPAN Panel power interface, serviceability).
 * Support development of test methods and lab capability for outdoor liquid-cooled compute hardware; manage external test partners where needed.
 * Contribute to serviceability and maintainability targets so field repair remains practical as the install base grows.