Reliability Engineer (Austin, TX)

Exowatt is revolutionizing the energy landscape for the AI era with our groundbreaking P3 system that captures solar energy, stores it as heat, and generates electricity on demand. Founded in 2023 and backed by leading investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Sam Altman, and Felicis, we're committed to providing clean, modular, and scalable power that meets the rapidly growing demands of AI infrastructure. Our mission is to make sustainable renewable energy always available and almost free, enabling technological advancement while protecting our planet.

We're hiring a Reliability Engineer to own the long-term dependability of the P3 system in the field. You'll define reliability requirements, run life-test programs, analyze field failure data, and ensure every unit we ship meets the demanding uptime expectations of AI infrastructure customers. This is a hands-on, high-impact role for someone equally at home in a test lab, at a customer site, and deep in failure data.

This role is based in our Austin, TX facility. Relocation is required, and relocation assistance will be provided if necessary.

What You'll Do

• Own reliability requirements, targets, and budgets for P3 system hardware - thermal storage, heat exchangers, turbomachinery, power electronics, and balance-of-plant components

• Design and execute accelerated life testing (ALT), HALT, and HASS programs to validate component and system life under thermal cycling, vibration, and operational stress conditions representative of the P3 deployment environment

• Lead FMEA and reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) studies during design, NPI, and production ramp; track and close action items with cross-functional teams

• Analyze field failure data, warranty returns, and in-service performance data to identify failure modes, estimate Weibull parameters, and prioritize design or process improvements

• Own the FRACAS process - capture, analyze, and close out failures from test and field with design and manufacturing partners

• Collaborate with design engineering on reliability-by-design principles: derating, thermal margin, fatigue life, creep, and materials selection for high-temperature, long-duration operation

• Build and maintain reliability models (RBD, fault trees, MTBF/MTTF estimates) and support system-level availability analysis for customer site deployments

• Define and track reliability KPIs - field MTBF, infant-mortality rates, demonstrated vs. predicted reliability - and report to engineering and operations leadership

• Partner closely with the Quality Engineering team to connect supplier and manufacturing quality data to field reliability outcomes

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Electrical, or a related engineering field

• 5+ years of reliability engineering experience with electromechanical or thermal hardware

• Experience designing and executing accelerated life or stress tests (ALT, HALT, HASS) for electromechanical or thermal hardware

• Proficiency with reliability analysis methods: FMEA, fault tree analysis (FTA), RBD, FRACAS, RCM

• Strong statistical foundation - Weibull analysis, life data analysis, DOE, and confidence-bound estimation

• Deep knowledge of root-cause methodologies (8D, 5-Why, fishbone) and failure analysis techniques

• Ability to read and interpret mechanical drawings and system schematics

• Clear technical writing and the ability to communicate findings to engineers, operations, and leadership

• Willingness to travel to test sites and customer deployments

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in energy, aerospace, automotive, industrial equipment, or other high-reliability hardware industries

• Familiarity with failure mechanisms specific to high-temperature continuous-operation hardware: thermal fatigue, creep, oxidation/corrosion, bearing and seal wear, insulation degradation

• Exposure to thermal storage systems, heat exchangers, pressure vessels, rotating machinery, or power electronics relevant to the P3 system

• ASQ Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE)

• Design for Reliability (DfR) training; Six Sigma Green or Black Belt

• Experience with reliability software (ReliaSoft, Windchill Quality, or similar) and CMMS/field-service platforms (Salesforce Field Service or similar)

• Experience building a reliability function from scratch at an early-stage hardware company