Company Overview
Virtium is a trusted leader in the design and manufacturing of high-reliability industrial modular hardware solutions which enable embedded computing system manufacturers to get to market more quickly, with lower development risk, and to benefit from a streamlined supply chain. Virtium's products include computer systems-on-module (SOMs), AI SOMs with on-board AI accelerator hardware, industrial-grade SSDs, industrial-grade DDR memory modules and wireless connectivity modules. With over 25 years of experience, Virtium has earned a reputation for delivering high-quality products that meet the demanding requirements of global customers in industries such as networking, telecommunications, aerospace and defense, industrial OEMs, and embedded markets. Virtium’s commitment to innovation, long-term product availability, and customer support has made it a preferred partner for companies requiring mission-critical Edge AI system solutions. This is a great opportunity to join a growing organization based Rancho Santa Margarita, CA.

Role Details

This is a full-time onsite role Monday to Friday in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA with no travel required. Compensation is expected to start at $150K+ depending on experience and internal alignment.

Position Summary

The Senior Failure Analysis Enigineer is a highly hands-on role responsible for investigating customer-returned SSD products, identifying root causes, and driving issues through resolution. This person will serve as the primary technical interface between customers and internal teams, providing clear communication, timely updates, and detailed failure analysis findings. The role is expected to spend most of the time on hands-on debug and investigation while also supervising a small team of 1–3 failure analysis engineers.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end handling of customer-returned SSD products, including investigation, root cause analysis, documentation, customer communication, and issue closure.
• Work directly with customers to gather failure symptoms, usage conditions, logs, and reproduction details needed to drive effective investigations.
• Provide timely technical updates, clear communication, and formal failure analysis reports to customers throughout the investigation process.
• Conduct hands-on electrical, firmware, system-level, and physical failure analysis on SSD products.
• Debug and analyze failures involving NAND flash, controllers, DRAM, PCB, power circuitry, and interface-related issues in SSD products.
• Drive structured root cause analysis using appropriate failure analysis and problem-solving methodologies.
• Drive corrective actions with cross-functional engineering, manufacturing, quality, and supplier teams to prevent repeat issues.
• Lead technical review meetings and customer-facing discussions for escalated failure analysis issues.
• Track investigation progress, turnaround time, and closure of key failure analysis issues.
• Maintain clear documentation, failure analysis records, and reporting that support issue resolution and knowledge sharing.
• Supervise and provide technical guidance to a small team of 1–3 failure analysis engineers.

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of hands-on experience in SSD failure analysis, SSD debug, or storage product engineering. 3+ years of leadership experience preferred
• Bachelor’s or master’s degree(s) in electrical engineering, Computer Engineering, Materials Science, or related field.
• Experience leading technical investigations and supervising or mentoring engineers in a failure analysis or related engineering environment.
• Strong understanding of SSD architecture, including NAND flash, SSD controllers, NVMe/SATA/PCIe interfaces, and firmware interactions.
• Experience handling customer-facing failure analysis, field-return investigations, and escalated technical issues.
• Strong failure analysis and debugging skills, with a methodical, investigative approach to identifying root cause in SSD products.

Technical Skills

• Experience with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, X-ray, SEM/FIB, and thermal analysis tools.
• Strong hands-on debugging, data analysis, and problem-solving capabilities.
• Familiarity with JEDEC and reliability qualification standards.
• Experience with Python, SQL, JMP, MATLAB, or related data analysis tools is a plus.

Soft Skills

• Strong customer-facing communication skills.
• Excellent analytical skills with a strong debugging and investigative mindset.
• Ability to manage multiple high-priority investigations simultaneously.
• Ability to lead cross-functional issue resolution and provide direction to a small failure analysis team.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with enterprise SSD products or hyperscale customer support.
• Knowledge of NAND reliability mechanisms such as retention, read disturb, endurance wear, and ECC behavior.
• Familiarity with automotive or industrial reliability standards.

Success Measures

Success in this role will be measured by timely issue resolution, strong customer communication, effective root cause identification, and reduction of repeat failures.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Failure analysis turnaround time (TAT)
• Root cause identification rate
• Customer satisfaction metrics
• Repeat failure reduction
• Corrective action closure effectiveness
• Field reliability improvement
• Escalation response time

Pay: From $150,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Application Question(s):

• Do you have at least 8 years of hands-on experience in SSD failure analysis, SSD debug, or storage product engineering?
• Will you now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H-1B visa sponsorship)?
• We are open to local candidates at this time as a relocation package is not included for this role. Do you live in the Orange County, CA area?

Language:

• English (Required)

Ability to Commute:

• Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688 (Required)

Work Location: In person