Reliability Product Approval Engineer

JOB DESCRIPTION

Work Schedule

Standard (Mon-Fri)

Environmental Conditions

Office

Job Description

As part of the Thermo Fisher Scientific team, you’ll discover meaningful work that makes a positive impact on a global scale. Join our colleagues in bringing our Mission to life every single day to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We provide our global teams with the resources needed to achieve individual career goals while helping to take science a step beyond. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, improving patient diagnostics and therapies, or increasing productivity in their laboratories, we are here to support them.

DESCRIPTION:
Join our team at Thermo Fisher Scientific, where you'll contribute to innovation in scientific instrumentation and solutions. As Reliability Product Approval Engineer, you will collaborate closely with R&D development teams, test technicians, and cross-functional partners to define, execute, and continuously improve reliability programs for cold storage and ultra-low temperature (ULT) products.

You will play a critical role in embedding reliability into the New Product Development (NPD) process by driving structured risk identification, verification planning, and failure analysis. Your work will directly influence product robustness, regulatory readiness, customer satisfaction, and long-term field performance by ensuring reliability risks are identified early and mitigated effectively.

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

Reliability Program Development & Execution

• Develop, document, and execute comprehensive reliability plans aligned with product requirements, program milestones, and regulatory expectations.
• Collaborate with R&D engineers and test technicians to define test strategies, protocols, and acceptance criteria for cold storage products.
• Support verification and validation testing by ensuring appropriate reliability coverage, stress conditions, and data collection.

Risk Management & Failure Analysis

• Lead and facilitate Design FMEA (DFMEA) activities and contribute to broader product risk management efforts.
• Analyze failures observed during verification testing and from field performance data, identifying root causes and driving corrective actions.
• Apply Physics of Failure (PoF) principles to anticipate degradation mechanisms in mechanical, electrical, and refrigeration systems.

Requirements & Traceability

• Partner closely with Product Management, Product Engineering, Quality, and Regulatory teams to develop and maintain product requirements traceability from customer needs through verification evidence.
• Support Product Approval activities by ensuring traceable linkage between requirements, tests, results, and conclusions.

Standardization & Process Improvement

• Create and maintain standardized reliability methods, test procedures, and design guidance to enable repeatable, high-quality evaluations.
• Develop and document Engineering Test Procedures (ETPs) for both standard and novel reliability test methods.
• Champion Lean, PPI, and continuous improvement initiatives to increase efficiency, reduce variability, and strengthen product robustness.

Collaboration & Technical Leadership

• Provide reliability expertise to cross-functional project teams and influence design decisions through data-driven insights.
• Mentor engineers and technicians in reliability tools, test methods, and analytical techniques.
• Foster a strong culture of safety, quality, and disciplined engineering practice.
• Travel: Up to 10% domestic travel.

REQUIREMENTS:

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related technical discipline
• Advanced coursework in Reliability Engineering or professional reliability certification preferred

Experience

• 5+ years of experience performing reliability engineering, product approval, or verification testing for complex electromechanical systems
• 3+ years of experience supporting design and development of mechanical or electromechanical products
• Experience with HVAC/R, refrigeration, or thermal systems strongly preferred
• Experience supporting regulated product testing (e.g., UL, IEC, NSF, Energy Star, DIN, or similar standards)
• Hands-on experience with test method development, accelerated life testing, and failure analysis
• Experience with data acquisition systems, automated testing, and technical reporting
• Familiarity with Lean / PPI methodologies and continuous improvement systems

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong understanding of system-level reliability principles and product testing methodologies
• Broad technical knowledge across mechanical, electrical, electronics, and refrigeration systems
• Working knowledge of reliability tools such as DFMEA, DOE, ALT, HALT, and statistical analysis
• Ability to translate test data and field feedback into actionable design and process improvements
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills
• Excellent organizational skills in a fast-paced, multi-project environment
• Proficiency with measurement and test equipment (e.g., thermocouples, pressure transducers, force gauges, oscilloscopes)
• Experience with analysis tools such as Minitab, Reliasoft, or equivalent statistical software
• Commitment to safety, quality, and operational excellence