Failure Analysis Engineer, SPICE Lab (Seattle)

SPICE lab (a Seattle-based branch of Amazon's Lab126 subsidiary) is a research and development group partnering with Amazon's most ambitious hardware organizations. SPICE lab supports Amazon's growing portfolio of hardware programs including Prime Air, Leo, Mechatronics, AWS, Annapurna, Lab126 Devices and others. If you are passionate about building the future and want to take part in developing ideas from concept to production, consider joining the SPICE lab team!

The Role: The Failure Analysis team leverages science and engineering to improve product reliability and safety, accelerate innovation, and make a direct impact on design through high-quality analysis and expert interpretation of data. This position will support the Annapurna Labs organization by investigating failure mechanisms in enterprise compute and networking assemblies, including thermal solutions.

You will develop and execute world-class failure analysis outcomes utilizing electrical fault isolation techniques, physical analysis, spectroscopy, and chemical characterization. A majority of time will be spent in a lab environment, so demonstrated enthusiasm for hands-on work developing and executing lab procedures is key.

You will act as the formal liaison between SPICE lab and the Annapurna Labs' cross-functional teams, coordinating failure analysis campaigns, triaging devices from reliability qualifications, and providing guidance on manufacturing and design best practices to drive reliability improvements at scale.

Key job responsibilities

Conduct failure analysis utilizing electrical fault isolation techniques, physical analysis, spectroscopy, and chemical characterization.

Consultation on corrective actions, method development, design/manufacturing best practices cross-functionally to drive measurable improvements to hardware reliability.

Interface with Senior and Principal engineering staff to identify and execute lab method development spanning enterprise compute assemblies, including power distribution, compute, networking, and thermal management components.

A day in the life

• You will split time between your desk in our office area and the lab facility down the hallway. You'll have a queue of failure analysis investigations at various stages, tracked using our Issue Management application and provide Annapurna Labs stakeholders periodic updates on progress. Your projects will culminate in failure analysis reports which you'll use to build consensus around corrective actions for the business to take. You will also undertake special projects to innovate on behalf of customers and expand the Product Integrity team's knowledge base, developing new methodologies to drive materials selection, design, and operational improvements.

About the team

SPICE lab supports three main functions: Reliability Testing, Failure Analysis, and Materials Characterization. We frequently work together because conducting thorough root cause analysis is valuable for understanding and remedying any issues uncovered as part of a program's reliability testing plan. Likewise, the reliability testing team can help to reproduce failure mechanisms, helping to validate Failure Analysis team's hypotheses.

Many of the same techniques are valuable in measuring materials properties or other figures of merit in materials selection exercises.

• Basic Qualifications
• Master's degree or above in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, material science, physics or equivalent
• Adept at electrical characterization techniques for electrical fault isolation (including curve trace, DMM) and materials characterization (SEM/EDS, FTIR, XRF, CT x-ray)

Experience with enterprise compute thermal solutions. Examples include: 3D vapor chambers, immersion/liquid cooling systems, evaporative cooling infrastructure.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with thermal characterization techniques for NTD or fault isolcation, such as lock-in thermography or OBIRCH
• Experience with developing and executing testing for thermal interface materials and/or heatsink devices.
• Equal Opportunity
• Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.
• Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location.

Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, WA, SEATTLE - 117,300.00 - 160,000.00 USD annually