Reliability Engineer

About the Role

Exowatt is seeking a Reliability Engineer to own the long-term dependability of our groundbreaking P3 system, which captures solar energy, stores it as heat, and generates electricity on demand. This hands-on, high-impact role involves defining reliability requirements, running life-test programs, analyzing field failure data, and ensuring every unit meets the demanding uptime expectations of AI infrastructure customers. The role is based in Austin, TX, with relocation assistance provided if necessary.

Responsibilities

• Own reliability requirements, targets, and budgets for P3 system hardware, including thermal storage, heat exchangers, turbomachinery, power electronics, and balance-of-plant components.
• Design and execute accelerated life testing (ALT), HALT, and HASS programs to validate component and system life under thermal cycling, vibration, and operational stress conditions.
• Lead FMEA and reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) studies during design, NPI, and production ramp; track and close action items with cross-functional teams.
• Analyze field failure data, warranty returns, and in-service performance data to identify failure modes, estimate Weibull parameters, and prioritize design or process improvements.
• Own the FRACAS process, capturing, analyzing, and closing out failures from test and field with design and manufacturing partners.
• Collaborate with design engineering on reliability-by-design principles, including derating, thermal margin, fatigue life, creep, and materials selection for high-temperature, long-duration operation.
• Build and maintain reliability models (RBD, fault trees, MTBF/MTTF estimates) and support system-level availability analysis for customer site deployments.
• Define and track reliability KPIs, such as field MTBF, infant-mortality rates, and demonstrated vs. predicted reliability, and report to engineering and operations leadership.
• Partner with the Quality Engineering team to connect supplier and manufacturing quality data to field reliability outcomes.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Electrical, or a related engineering field.
• 5+ years of reliability engineering experience with electromechanical or thermal hardware.
• Experience designing and executing accelerated life or stress tests (ALT, HALT, HASS) for electromechanical or thermal hardware.
• Proficiency with reliability analysis methods: FMEA, fault tree analysis (FTA), RBD, FRACAS, RCM.
• Strong statistical foundation, including Weibull analysis, life data analysis, DOE, and confidence-bound estimation.
• Deep knowledge of root-cause methodologies (8D, 5-Why, fishbone) and failure analysis techniques.
• Ability to read and interpret mechanical drawings and system schematics.
• Clear technical writing and communication skills for engineers, operations, and leadership.
• Willingness to travel to test sites and customer deployments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in energy, aerospace, automotive, industrial equipment, or other high-reliability hardware industries.
• Familiarity with failure mechanisms specific to high-temperature continuous-operation hardware: thermal fatigue, creep, oxidation/corrosion, bearing and seal wear, insulation degradation.
• Exposure to thermal storage systems, heat exchangers, pressure vessels, rotating machinery, or power electronics relevant to the P3 system.
• ASQ Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE) or Design for Reliability (DfR) training; Six Sigma Green or Black Belt.
• Experience with reliability software (ReliaSoft, Windchill Quality, or similar) and CMMS/field-service platforms (Salesforce Field Service or similar).
• Experience building a reliability function from scratch at an early-stage hardware company.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and equity options.
• Comprehensive benefits package, including health, dental, and retirement plans.
• Relocation assistance.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are made by humans.