Reliability Engineer in San Jose, California at Rivet Industries, Inc.

About Rivet

Rivet is an American company building integrated task systems — fusing hardened hardware with software, sensors, AI, and networking — for industrial workforces and defense personnel. We create capabilities that multiply the effectiveness of every individual and withstand the world’s toughest environments.

We serve the people who build, operate, maintain, and defend our way of life. From technicians and engineers to first responders and service members, they embody the hard work, ingenuity, and meritocratic values that drive Western prosperity. Yet too often they are forced to rely on outdated tools that fail under modern pressures. Rivet exists to reset that priority.

At Rivet, you’ll join a mission-driven team that fuses disciplines to deliver decisive outcomes where they matter most. Whether shaping our technology, strengthening our partnerships, or building our culture, every role here contributes to equipping the front lines with the modern systems they deserve.

EOE

Work Authorization Requirement: Due to the nature of our business and compliance with federal regulations, all candidates must be a "U.S. Person". Upon hire, you will be required to provide documentation verifying your status as a U.S. Citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or a protected individual under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).

Role: Reliability Engineer

Location: San Jose or Bellevue

Compensation*: $165,000-$215,000 + benefits

We’re looking for a Reliability Engineer to ensure our products perform consistently under real-world and mission-critical conditions. This role is central to de-risking designs, validating performance, and meeting rigorous government and industry standards. You’ll work across the full product lifecycle—from early design through production—using data, testing, and failure analysis to drive reliability improvements. Your work will directly impact product quality, customer trust, and long-term system performance.

Responsibilities

• Define and flow down reliability requirements at system and module levels, including government-driven specifications

• Lead stress characterization and define realistic usage conditions and edge cases

• Conduct and document FMEA to proactively identify and mitigate risks

• Develop acceleration models and design accelerated life tests

• Create reliability test plans, specifications, and procedures

• Apply Design of Experiments (DOE) to optimize test efficiency and insight generation

• Investigate failure mechanisms through deep technical research and analysis

• Perform and support failure analysis to determine root cause using appropriate methodologies

• Own reliability validation and testing across the full product lifecycle

• Deliver rigorous statistical analysis and clear, actionable insights

• Produce concise, high-quality reliability reports for internal and external stakeholders

• Partner cross-functionally (HW, SW, manufacturing, quality) to implement reliability improvements and mitigations

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field (or equivalent experience)

• 5+ years of experience in reliability engineering or a closely related discipline

• Strong understanding of mechanical design, material behavior, and failure mechanisms (ideally in electronics or complex systems)

• Hands-on experience developing and executing reliability tests (e.g., mechanical, shock, vibration, environmental, lifecycle)

• Familiarity with industry standards such as ASTM, MIL, JEDEC, and IEC

• Experience with failure analysis tools and techniques (e.g., optical microscopy, X-ray, CT, SEM, EDX, FTIR)

• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, evolving environment

*Total compensation may vary within this range and is determined by years and level of relevant experience, job-related skills, education, and other factors. In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for equity grants and other forms of compensation. Eligible employees also receive a competitive benefits package, including unlimited PTO.