Advanced Packaging Reliability Engineer

OpenAI OpenAI · AI Frontier · San Francisco, CA · Scaling

This role focuses on the reliability engineering of advanced packages for high-performance AI and computing systems. The engineer will use thermal and mechanical modeling to optimize package design, material selection, and assembly processes, develop reliability test plans, identify failure mechanisms, and perform root-cause analysis. The goal is to ensure the robustness and lifetime of packages used in AI workloads.

What you'd actually do

  1. Lead reliability test plan and assessments for advanced HPC packages, including risk identification, potential failure-mechanism analysis, root-cause investigation, mitigation planning, and corrective-action development.
  2. Drive reliability-focused package design optimization based on thermo-mechanical modeling to improve package reliability, power integrity, thermal performance, mechanical robustness, and platform scalability.
  3. Develop, validate, and apply package reliability models and lifetime-prediction methodologies for assembly, qualification, and product operating conditions.
  4. Evaluate and recommend package architectures, structural designs, materials, and assembly processes to maximize reliability performance and manufacturing robustness.
  5. Predict electromigration lifetime of package interconnects under product-specific current, temperature, workload, duty-cycle, and PCB boundary conditions.

Skills

Required

  • 8+ years of industry experience & knowledge of semiconductor package reliability principles and failure mechanisms, including electromigration, solder-joint fatigue, interfacial delamination, dielectric cracking, via failure, warpage, creep, stress relaxation, and material degradation.
  • In-depth knowledge of advanced packaging architectures, including 2.5D and 3.5D integration, interposers, embedded bridges, chiplets, large package substrates, HBM integration, redistribution layers, and package-level power delivery.
  • Demonstrated experience leading package failure investigations, performing root-cause analysis, and implementing effective design, material, process, or manufacturing corrective actions.
  • Strong experience with thermal and mechanical finite-element modeling of packages, including temperature distribution, warpage, stress, strain, fatigue, and interfacial reliability.
  • Strong understanding of package-material behavior, including coefficient of thermal expansion, elasticity, viscoelasticity, plasticity, creep, adhesion, fracture toughness, thermal conductivity, and temperature-dependent properties.

Nice to have

  • Experience developing electromigration or interconnect lifetime models for solder joints, vias, redistribution layers, interposers, or package power-delivery structures.
  • Knowledge of package qualification methods, acceleration models, thermal cycling, power cycling, current-stress testing, and reliability lifetime extrapolation.
  • Familiarity with package failure-analysis techniques such as acoustic microscopy, X-ray imaging, cross-sectioning, scanning electron microscopy, and material characterization.
  • Experience supporting package-integrated voltage regulation, high-current power delivery, or high-transient-current AI and HPC products.
  • MS or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, or a related technical field.
  • Strong communication, cross-functional collaboration, and technical leadership skills.

What the JD emphasized

  • lead reliability engineering
  • assess package level mechanical and thermal reliability risks
  • apply thermal and mechanical modeling
  • optimize package design, material selection, and assembly processes
  • develop reliability test plans
  • identify failure mechanisms
  • perform root-cause analysis
  • recommend practical corrective actions
  • assess package reliability risks
  • predict package behavior
  • develop qualification strategies
  • resolve reliability issues
  • improve overall package robustness and lifetime
  • Lead reliability test plan and assessments
  • risk identification
  • potential failure-mechanism analysis
  • root-cause investigation
  • mitigation planning
  • corrective-action development
  • Drive reliability-focused package design optimization
  • thermo-mechanical modeling
  • improve package reliability
  • power integrity
  • thermal performance
  • mechanical robustness
  • platform scalability
  • Develop, validate, and apply package reliability models
  • lifetime-prediction methodologies
  • assembly
  • qualification
  • product operating conditions
  • Evaluate and recommend package architectures
  • structural designs
  • materials
  • assembly processes
  • maximize reliability performance
  • manufacturing robustness
  • Predict electromigration lifetime
  • package interconnects
  • product-specific current
  • temperature
  • workload
  • duty-cycle
  • PCB boundary conditions
  • complex reliability challenges
  • cutting-edge HPC packages
  • very large package form factors
  • high power
  • high-speed chip integration
  • develop new reliability test methodologies
  • predictive models
  • engineering solutions
  • conventional industry practices
  • pushing the limits
  • heterogeneous verfical integration
  • chip/package/system
  • high-current power delivery
  • advanced cooling
  • large-scale package architectures
  • influence product architecture and design decisions
  • simulation-driven insights
  • chip, package, cooling, and system levels
  • learning broadly across semiconductor technologies
  • chip architecture
  • power delivery
  • package integration
  • materials
  • cooling
  • system-level interactions
  • 8+ years of industry experience & knowledge of semiconductor package reliability principles and failure mechanisms
  • electromigration
  • solder-joint fatigue
  • interfacial delamination
  • dielectric cracking
  • via failure
  • warpage
  • creep
  • stress relaxation
  • material degradation
  • In-depth knowledge of advanced packaging architectures
  • 2.5D and 3.5D integration
  • interposers
  • embedded bridges
  • chiplets
  • large package substrates
  • HBM integration
  • redistribution layers
  • package-level power delivery
  • Demonstrated experience leading package failure investigations
  • performing root-cause analysis
  • implementing effective design, material, process, or manufacturing corrective actions
  • Strong experience with thermal and mechanical finite-element modeling of packages
  • temperature distribution
  • warpage
  • stress
  • strain
  • fatigue
  • interfacial reliability
  • Strong understanding of package-material behavior
  • coefficient of thermal expansion
  • elasticity
  • viscoelasticity
  • plasticity
  • creep
  • adhesion
  • fracture toughness
  • thermal conductivity
  • temperature-dependent properties
  • Experience developing electromigration or interconnect lifetime models
  • solder joints
  • vias
  • redistribution layers
  • interposers
  • package power-delivery structures
  • Knowledge of package qualification methods
  • acceleration models
  • thermal cycling
  • power cycling
  • current-stress testing
  • reliability lifetime extrapolation
  • Familiarity with package failure-analysis techniques
  • acoustic microscopy
  • X-ray imaging
  • cross-sectioning
  • scanning electron microscopy
  • material characterization
  • Experience supporting package-integrated voltage regulation
  • high-current power delivery
  • high-transient-current AI and HPC products
  • MS or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, or a related technical field
  • Strong communication, cross-functional collaboration, and technical leadership skills
  • U.S. export control laws and regulations
  • legal status requirements