Senior Electrical Engineer, Field Failure Analysis

We’re ALTEN Technology USA, an engineering company helping clients bring groundbreaking ideas to life-from advancing space exploration and life-saving medical devices to building autonomous electric vehicles. With 3,000+ experts across North America, we partner with leading companies in aerospace, medical devices, robotics, automotive, commercial vehicles, EVs, rail, and more.

As part of the global ALTEN Group-57,000+ engineers in 30 countries-we deliver across the entire product development cycle, from consulting to full project outsourcing.

When you join ALTEN Technology USA, you’ll collaborate on some of the world’s toughest engineering challenges, supported by mentorship, career growth opportunities, and comprehensive benefits. We take pride in fostering a culture where employees feel valued, supported, and inspired to grow.

Workplace: On-site, 5 days per week

Location: Palo Alto, CA

Salary: $140-160k

We are seeking a Senior Electrical Engineer to investigate field-returned automotive Zonal ECU units, troubleshoot hardware failures, and identify root causes at the component and board level. The role involves bench-level debugging, failure reproduction, Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), and developing detailed root cause reports and Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) recommendations.

Responsibilities 

• Triage and classify returned units and field failures

• Debug ECU boards at bench level: power, communication, I/O

• Build Fault Tree Analyses (FTA) and failure hypotheses

• Reproduce failures in the lab

• Write root cause reports and CAPA recommendations (8D)

Required Qualifications 

• 7+ years in automotive electronics / ECU hardware

• Strong schematic and PCB layout reading, component-level debug

• Hands-on with oscilloscope, power supplies, multimeter, CAN tools

• Experience in failure analysis, FTA, 8D, RCA

• Knowledge of CAN/CAN-FD, LIN or Automotive Ethernet

• Fluent English, written and spoken

Preferred Qualifications 

• Experience with power electronics and automotive power management systems.

• Knowledge of Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) testing, troubleshooting, and failure analysis.

• Familiarity with IATF 16949 quality management standards and AIAG automotive quality methodologies.

• Hands-on experience with X-ray inspection, component-level failure analysis, or PCB cross-sectioning techniques.

Salary Range

• $140,000 - 160,000

• The actual salary offered is dependent on various factors including, but not limited to, location, the candidate’s combination of job-related knowledge, qualifications, skills, education, training, and experience 

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, genetic information, or pregnancy.

Please beware of job seeker scams and see this important notice on our careers page for more information about our recruiting process.

Compliance Notice: Alten USA is a federal contractor subject to the requirements of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) and Executive Order 11246. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Drug Screening Requirement: As a federal contractor, Alten USA maintains a drug-free workplace. All candidates selected for employment will be required to successfully complete a pre-employment drug screening as a condition of hire.