Hardware Failure Analysis Engineer
Diagnose and prevent data center hardware failures, validate firmware and hardware releases, manage vendor RMAs, and build monitoring and reliability processes. Requires a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, 2+ years in hardware reliability, and scripting plus systems-language experience.
About the job
Responsibilities
- Analyze firmware packages and hardware specifications for compatibility, performance, reliability, security vulnerabilities, and safety issues in data center environments.
- Investigate and diagnose hardware failures, including ambiguous or intermittent “grey failures,” using rigorous testing and data analysis.
- Manage vendor relationships and RMA claims, negotiate resolutions, and hold vendors accountable.
- Collaborate with data center operations technicians to troubleshoot, repair, and optimize hardware systems.
- Develop monitoring tools, scripts, and processes to detect hardware anomalies and minimize downtime.
- Document failure modes, root-cause analyses, AFR/reliability models, RMA outcomes, and hardware evaluations.
- Participate in on-call rotations and incident response for hardware-related issues.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
- 2+ years of experience in hardware reliability engineering, preferably in high-performance computing or data center environments.
- Expertise in firmware analysis, hardware specification review, and release validation.
- Experience with RMA processes, vendor negotiations, and resolution escalation.
- Ability to diagnose and validate complex hardware failures using tools, logic analyzers, or diagnostic software.
- Familiarity with data center hardware such as servers, GPUs, and networking equipment.
- Proficiency in Python and Bash scripting, plus experience with at least one systems language such as C, C++, Java, or Rust.
- Strong data-driven problem-solving and reliability engineering skills.
- Ability to collaborate with cross-functional operations teams.
Nice-to-haves
- Experience with AI/ML infrastructure or supercomputing environments.
- Knowledge of NVIDIA, Dell, HP, or Supermicro ecosystems and supply chain management.
- Hardware engineering or reliability certifications such as CRE or CompTIA Server+.
- Experience in a fast-paced startup or technology company.
Skills
Firmware Analysis, Hardware Diagnostics, Failure Analysis, Reliability Engineering, Python, Bash, C, C++, Java, Rust, Logic Analyzers, Servers, Gpus, Networking Equipment, Rma Processes
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