Reliability engineer Jobs in Santa Clara, CA

Mission

Aetherflux's mission is to deliver energy to planet Earth. Our work will make energy more accessible, establish American energy independence, power underdeveloped and disaster-stricken areas, and protect American warfighters.

Background

Aetherflux is taking a new approach to an old idea called space solar power. Our constellation of satellites will collect sunlight in Low Earth Orbit, convert it to electricity, and transmit power through infrared lasers to ground stations, providing reliable energy access where traditional delivery is expensive, challenging, or dangerous.

Current energy systems rely on complex logistics and outdated infrastructure, making them vulnerable to natural disasters, extreme weather, and physical and cyber attacks. Aetherflux overcomes these challenges by enabling direct, on-demand, secure, and scalable 24-hour energy distribution from space. This can revolutionize energy generation and delivery, and enable new capabilities as we deliver power to remote regions, military bases, bespoke operations, and unmanned autonomous systems.

Baiju Bhatt, who also co-founded Robinhood, founded Aetherflux in 2024. Inspired by his father’s career at NASA, Baiju earned his B.S. in Physics and M.S. in Mathematics at Stanford before starting Robinhood, now a public company that has helped over 20 million Americans access the financial system. Aetherflux is currently self-funded through a $10 million investment from Baiju.

This is an ambitious mission that demands extraordinary talent. Aetherflux’s team has worked at places like Robinhood, SpaceX, NASA, Anduril, JPL, and the U.S. Navy, and is based in San Carlos, CA. If you're ready to solve complex technical challenges and help build the most important energy company in the world, we want to hear from you.

Overview

The Reliability Engineer at Aetherflux will ensure long-term reliability and performance of our space-based energy transmission systems. This role requires expertise in failure analysis, risk assessment, and reliability modeling to guarantee mission success. You will work closely with hardware, software, and systems engineers to identify potential failure points and implement design-for-reliability methodologies to enhance system robustness.

Responsibilities

• Reliability Analysis & Risk Mitigation : Conduct Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), and Failure Reporting, Analysis, and Corrective Action System (FRACAS) to enhance component and system reliability.
• Testing & Qualification : Develop and execute reliability testing strategies, including Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT), Highly Accelerated Stress Screening (HASS), Environmental Stress Screening (ESS), and vibration / thermal vacuum testing to assess system durability.
• Reliability Modeling : Use Weibull analysis, Monte Carlo simulations, and probabilistic risk assessments to predict system longevity and failure rates.
• Component Qualification & Failure Analysis : Work with electrical, mechanical, and software teams to qualify flight hardware and investigate root causes of failures.
• Spaceflight Readiness : Ensure redundancy and fault-tolerant designs for satellite electronics, laser systems, and energy transmission payloads.
• Field Performance Monitoring : Track system reliability metrics post-deployment and drive continuous improvement based on real-world mission data.
• Process & Manufacturing Reliability : Collaborate with manufacturing engineers to improve build quality, reduce failures, and establish process control strategies.
• Supplier Reliability : Evaluate and qualify vendors for high-reliability components and materials for space applications.
• Collaboration : Work closely with manufacturing, integration, and test engineers to enhance system reliability at every development stage.

Basic Qualifications

Preferred Qualifications

Benefits

Disclaimer

This job description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the job and position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive or all-inclusive listing of duties and responsibilities. Contents are subject to change at Aetherflux’s discretion.

Aetherflux is an equal employment opportunity employer. We consider individuals for employment or promotion according to their skills, abilities and experience. Aetherflux is committed to complying with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, age, national origin, ancestry, physical, mental or developmental disability, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions relating to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), veteran status, military status, marital or registered domestic partnership status, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics), genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state or local laws.