Senior System Reliability Engineer

We are the movers of the world and the makers of the future. We get up every day, roll up our sleeves and build a better world -- together. At Ford, we’re all a part of something bigger than ourselves. Are you ready to change the way the world moves?

Ford’s Electric Vehicles, Digital and Design (EVDD) team is charged with delivering the company’s vision of a fully electric transportation future. EVDD is customer-obsessed, entrepreneurial, and data-driven and is dedicated to delivering industry-leading customer experience for electric vehicle buyers and owners. You’ll join an agile team of doers pioneering our EV future by working collaboratively, staying focused on only what matters, and delivering excellence day in and day out. Join us to make positive change by helping build a better world where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams.

In this position...
In this highly interdisciplinary role, you will work with multiple teams and help set reliability targets at the system and subsystem level.  You will oversee the design validation test campaigns throughout different stages of vehicle development from proof of concept to the launch.  You will be defining test plans, quantities and test profiles in collaboration with subject matter experts based on the physics of failure, complexity of systems, and technology readiness levels. You will be identifying failure modes and design test methods to exercise them.  This role is expected to support an entire vehicle.

What you'll do...
• Define reliability targets for different systems and subsystems by cascading top level requirements based on system complexity and architecture maturity
• Develop design validation test campaign for different systems in a vehicle at different stages of development from concept to launch
• Specify test resources and design accelerated test profiles for different systems and subsystems.  
• Lead the efforts to analyze the root causes of failures and interpret the results of SEM, XRD, optical microscopy, and other tools commonly used in forensic engineering
• Work in a cross-functional environment with individuals from different teams and with different backgrounds.  You will be presented with problems from very diverse disciplines of engineering (mechanical, electrical, chemical, and more).  You will have the opportunity to both lead and learn
• Use connected vehicle platforms to inform hardware design by generating duty cycles that are based on real-life usage data
• Conduct DFMEA studies for different systems

You'll have...
• B.S. in Mechanical, Electrical, or Chemical Engineering, Material Science, applied Physics or Chemistry with 5+ years of relevant experience in reliability engineering, test design, and failure analysis
• Advanced knowledge of reliability engineering mathematics including but not limited to: Different statistical distribution commonly used in reliability analyses and their attributes.  Reliability requirement development, target allocation, cascading the reliability requirements from top level to system and subsystem levels and setting the appropriate confidence levels.  Fleet data analysis: Identify appropriate target user to define mission profiles/ duty cycles.   Failure vs suspension test data treatment, data censoring.
• Advanced knowledge of accelerated life testing such as: Test plan development (using the outcomes of DFMEA or legacy engineering knowledge).  Specify sample sizes. Determine the order of waterfall test sequences. Duty cycle/mission profile development.  Develop accelerated test profiles in close collaborations with component owners
• Solids understanding of physics of failure with a focus on fatigue, wear, environmental degradation (temp cycling, time at temp, UV degradation, humidity exposure, oxidation, vibration, etc.)
• Familiarity and working experience with different industry standards for shock and vibe, corrosion, environmental aggressors, etc.
• Ability to work with several different teams with distinct backgrounds.  You will be presented with problems from very diverse disciplines of engineering (mechanical, electrical, chemical, and more)
• Demonstrated track record of leading successful root cause analysis campaigns in a multi-functional environment
• Demonstrated track record of finding the balance between depth and spread to optimize deliverables while operating in a face-paced environment

Even better, you may have...
• M.S. or Ph.D. in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering.  
• Automotive background/experience is highly desired, but not necessary.
• Specific coursework focused on Reliability Engineering is a highly desired but not required
• Experience with Microsoft Office, Confluence, and Jira applications
• Experience with instrumentation and measurement of powertrain systems in a lab environment
• Strong written and verbal communi