Hardware Reliability Engineer - Watch System Reliability

Summary

At Apple, we don’t just follow industry standards—we push beyond them. We value creative problem-solving, dynamic thinking, and the ability to quickly adapt to new technical challenges. If you’re excited about tackling tough problems and shaping the future of amazing products, we’d love to have you on board! In this role, you’ll collaborate with diverse hardware teams to ensure our products are not only durable and reliable, but also built to exceed expectations. From early concepts to field returns, you’ll lead cross-functional teams, design innovative reliability tests, and drive continuous product improvements. Come join our team!

Description

As a System Reliability Engineer, you will define and defend product durability from early architecture through mass production. Rather than reacting to failures late in the cycle, you will characterize the fundamental balance between real-world life stress and product strength—developing targeted accelerated test methodologies, isolating failure mechanisms early, and converting empirical data into actionable design risk assessments. Your work directly steers cross-functional design decisions to ensure our products deliver an uncompromised customer experience over their full operating life.

Key Responsibilities

Front-End Architecture & Risk Mitigation: Partner with Product Design, EE, and Materials teams during early architecture and concept phases to drive FMEAs, identify high-risk failure mechanisms early, and design out vulnerabilities before tooling freezes

Physics-of-Failure Test Methodology: Conceive, author, and validate novel reliability test procedures that map complex real-world user behaviors and environmental stresses into repeatable, accelerated laboratory environments

Test Infrastructure & Automation: Lead the technical definition and delivery of specialized test equipment, fixtures, and specifications; drive vendor development and lab readiness to meet aggressive program milestones

Quantitative Risk & Statistical Assessment: Own the statistical modeling of reliability data (e.g., Weibull distribution, accelerated degradation, stress–strength interference) to establish design margins, project annual failure rates (DPPM), and inform program risk at major build gates

Failure Analysis Leadership: Drive physical FA investigations (optical, X-ray/CT, SEM/EDS, etc.) to definitive root cause, moving beyond surface symptoms to deliver actionable design mitigations and validate corrective actions

Executive Communication & Cross-Functional Alignment: Serve as the authoritative technical voice for reliability; synthesize complex, ambiguous datasets into crisp executive narratives, technical risk waterfalls, and clear paths to closure for cross-functional partners and leadership

Minimum Qualifications

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related discipline, with 7+ years of hands-on industry experience in hardware reliability engineering, product validation, or failure analysis

Deep, practical background in physical failure analysis techniques (e.g., Optical Microscopy, X-ray/CT, SEM/EDS, cross-sectioning) and a proven track record of methodically driving complex mechanical or electrical failures to fundamental root causes

Proven history of developing custom reliability test suites from first principles, authoring detailed engineering test specs, and bringing up automated fixtures under tight NPI schedules

Demonstrated ability to construct concise, high-signal technical presentations (Keynote/PPT) and communicate complex technical trade-offs with conviction across multi-disciplinary engineering and executive teams

Willingness and ability to travel internationally up to 10% to support factory builds, audit vendor labs, and oversee critical test bring-up

Preferred Qualifications

M.S. or Ph.D. in Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or an equivalent field

Mastery of reliability statistics and modeling tools (JMP, Python, or R), including Weibull analysis, accelerated test modeling (Arrhenius, Peck, Coffin-Manson), sample size determination, and degradation analysis

Experience taking complex, compact electromechanical systems or wearable devices from early concept through mass production ramp

Specialized knowledge in one or more core degradation modes: adhesive/seal integrity, drop/impact shock dynamics, environmental ingress, corrosion kinetics, or material fatigue

Proven ability to navigate high ambiguity, challenge assumptions with rigorous data, and mentor junior engineers on analytical rigor and decision-making

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