Hardware Reliability Engineer

Skip is on a mission to make life joyful through powered movement.

Movement is a powerful way to build physical, mental and social health. Yet it is elusive for 2 billion people due to age, injury, or disability. We are building products that will restore mobility for millions and enable a new frontier of joyful movement experiences. We want to build a future where a grandparent can easily outrun their grandkids and no one is left behind at the trailhead.

Skip is a 22-person early-stage start-up that spun out of Google X in 2023. With deep cross-disciplinary expertise and key partnerships (e.g. with Arc’teryx) we are uniquely positioned to launch the first commercially successful wearable robotic device, the MO/GO, develop a platform to launch future Movewear products and transform millions of lives in the coming years.

The Role

As our Hardware Reliability Engineer, you will be the person who makes sure our products don't just work in the lab -- they work on real humans, in real conditions, for a long time. You will own the reliability testing program for the MO/GO and future Skip products, from defining test plans and failure modes through execution, analysis, and closure. On a small team building first-of-kind hardware, reliability isn't a gate at the end of the process -- it's woven into every build.

This is an IC role on a flat team of 22 exceptional engineers where everyone contributes directly. You'll work closely with mechanical, electrical, firmware, and manufacturing to understand failure modes before they find users.

What You'll Do

• Own the reliability testing program for Skip's wearable devices -- design test plans, define pass/fail criteria, execute testing across EVT/DVT/PVT builds, and track results through to closure

• Develop and maintain FMEA (DFMEA/PFMEA) for mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical subsystems, translating failure mode analysis into actionable test coverage

• Design and run accelerated life testing (ALT), HALT, HASS, and environmental stress screening to uncover failure modes before they reach users

• Build and maintain test fixtures, rigs, and custom tooling for cyclic, fatigue, wear, and environmental testing of device subsystems

• Lead root cause analysis (RCA) for reliability failures and field returns -- dig into the physics of failure and drive corrective actions through to verification

• Define and track reliability metrics and KPIs across the product lifecycle; own the reliability sections of design review documentation

• Partner with the NPI and manufacturing teams to ensure production processes don't introduce new failure modes, and that incoming components meet reliability requirements

• Wear prototypes several hours a week to participate in on-body testing and provide firsthand feedback from the user perspective

• Bring joy to the team, participate in embarrassing team events, and tolerate KZ's terrible music choices

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years of experience in hardware reliability, durability testing, or product validation in a professional setting

• Hands-on experience designing and executing reliability test programs for electromechanical products -- consumer electronics, medical devices, robotics, or powered consumer products

• Strong command of reliability engineering fundamentals: FMEA, HALT/HASS, accelerated life testing, Weibull analysis, failure mode physics

• Experience building or operating test fixtures and environmental test equipment (thermal chambers, vibration tables, cyclic rigs)

• Solid root cause analysis skills -- comfortable using 8D, 5-Why, fishbone, and failure analysis tools to get to physics-of-failure explanations

• Able to deliver results independently in a fast-paced, early-stage environment where the reliability playbook is still being written

• Ability to relocate to or already based in the Bay Area

• Sense of humour; tolerant of Aussie & Canadian spelling

Nice to Have

• Experience with wearable devices, powered exoskeletons, orthotics, or body-worn electromechanical products

• Familiarity with medical device reliability frameworks (IEC 62368, ISO 13485, IEC 60601) -- the rigor translates even if we're not FDA-regulated yet

• Experience with on-body or biomechanical testing, including human subject data collection

• Background in fatigue analysis or materials failure for soft goods, textiles, or flexible structures

• Personal motivation to improve human movement and make the world more accessible

Skip is an equal opportunity employer. Our hiring decisions are based on need and competence to satisfy said need. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other legally protected status.

Any and all offers of employment extended by Skip are conditional on candidates’ ability to provide satisfactory proof of eligibility to maintain full-time employment in the United States.