Engineering Manager- Design for Reliability
Molex· enterprise· Electronics/Connectivity· Oct 1, 2026 · 27d ago
Rochester Hills, Michigan
In office
Full-time
Manager
$160K–$210K est.
8+ years exp
Job description
About the Role
We're establishing and scaling our Design for Reliability (DfR) capability, and we're looking for an engineering leader to lead that growth from the front. You'll grow and mentor a regional team, shape how reliability is engineered into our products, and pioneer the use of AI and data analytics to make validation faster, smarter, and more predictive. Operating across divisions, you'll be the regional face of reliability, building credibility with our business partners and confidence with our global customers.
A central part of the mission: standardizing how we validate products at the industry level (starting with Automotive), working directly with customers to align on expectations and test strategies. If you want real scope, visible impact, and the chance to define a function rather than inherit one, this is it.
Key Responsibilities
· Own the regional reliability strategy and validation process across the product lifecycle, embedding DfR early to drive reliability by design rather than test-and-fix, keeping efforts risk-based and focused on relevant failure modes rather than following a testing checklist.
· Build, mentor, and lead a regional team of DfR engineers across multiple sites and divisions, establishing consistent methods, tools, and competency standards.
· Standardize validation approaches at the product-industry level (e.g., Automotive) for consistency in methods, coverage, and acceptance criteria across programs and customers.
· Drive reliability methodologies (physics-of-failure, accelerated life testing, design margin analysis, FMEA/DFMEA, statistical modeling) and drive root-cause analysis and corrective action.
· Lead the adoption of AI and data analytics by capturing, structuring, and analyzing reliability data across labs and programs to advance reliability prediction, optimize testing, accelerate validation, and enable continuous learning.
· Partner with divisional engineering , quality, and program leadership to integrate DfR into design and program milestones, acting as the regional voice of reliability and engage customers to align on reliability expectations, acceptance criteria, and test strategies, balancing technical rigor with time-to-market.
· Partner with the reliability test labs to execute test programs, accelerated life, environmental and mechanical stress, and failure analysis feeding lab data back into design decisions and closing capability gaps.
· Integrate manufacturing process capability , supplier and component qualification, and field reliability learning into validation strategy and design decisions, and support critical business decisions and reliability risk at product launch, manufacturing quality spills, and potential warranty/field issues.
Qualifications
Required
· Bachelor's or Master's in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Materials, or related).
· 8+ years in reliability, validation, or design engineering, including 3+ years in a leadership or people-management role.
· Expertise in DfR methodologies, reliability validation, and accelerated/life testing, with hands-on experience planning and executing programs with reliability or test labs.
· Proven experience engaging and negotiating with customers on test and validation strategy.
· Demonstrated ability to work across and influence design, manufacturing, quality, supplier, and lab organizations in a matrixed global environment, including leading cross-functional risk reviews and informing product and launch decisions based on reliability evidence.
· Strong communication skills in English (written and spoken), including the ability to present technical reliability risk to customers and senior leadership.
Preferred
· Strong working knowledge of reliability statistics (life data analysis, confidence methods, test planning), with experience using field, warranty, and test data to drive design and corrective actions.
· Experience in automotive or other highly regulated industries including familiarity with electronics and interconnect standards (e.g., USCAR, MIL, AEC-Q, ISO/TS) and supporting customer audits, issue resolution, and qualification negotiations.
· Exposure to AI, machine learning, and data analytics including digital test data systems, dashboarding, and analytics tools applied to reliability or engineering problems.
· Experience with FRACAS, warranty analytics, and closed-loop corrective action systems.
· Experience with supplier or component qualification and manufacturing process reliability.
· Track record standardizing engineering processes across a region or enterprise and operating across divisions, sites, or business units.
· Reliability certification (e.g., CRE) a plus.
Key Competencies
Strategic capability building and team development; cross-functional influence and customer negotiation; data-driven, analytical thinking; and comfort operating with ambiguity in a matrixed, multi-site environment.
At Koch companies, we are entrepreneurs. This means we openly challenge the status quo, find new ways to create value and get rewarded for our individual contributions. Any compensation range provided for a role is an estimate determined by available market data. The actual amount may be higher or lower than the range provided considering each candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location. If you have questions, please speak to your recruiter about the flexibility and detail of our compensation philosophy.
Hiring Philosophy
All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here .
Who We Are
At Koch, employees are empowered to do what they do best to make life better. Learn how our business philosophy helps employees unleash their potential while creating value for themselves and the company.
Our Benefits
Our goal is for each employee, and their families, to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength - focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most. Our benefits plan includes - medical, dental, vision, flexible spending and health savings accounts, life insurance, ADD, disability, retirement, paid vacation/time off, educational assistance, and may also include infertility assistance, paid parental leave and adoption assistance. Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region. If you have questions on what benefits apply to you, please speak to your recruiter.
Additionally, everyone has individual work and personal needs. We seek to enable the best work environment that helps you and the business work together to produce superior results.
Equal Opportunities
Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. Except where prohibited by state law, some offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test. This employer uses E-Verify. Please click here for additional information. (For Illinois E-Verify information click here , aquí , or tu ).
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Keywords to mirror
aimachine learning
- Platform
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Benefits
Benefits detected in the listing.
Dental
Vision
Parental Leave