Senior Failure Analysis Engineer

Requisition ID # 165256 

Job Category: Engineering / Science 

Job Level: Individual Contributor

Business Unit: Electric Engineering

Work Type: Onsite

Job Location: Danville; San Ramon

Department Overview

Applied Technology Services (ATS) has been providing technology-based, innovative, high-value services to the company for over 40 years. ATS is a multidisciplinary team of over 120 engineers, scientists, and technicians. The ATS vision is to be a forward-thinking, technological leader providing high-value solutions and services needed across the Company. ATS high value services also help proactively avoid future problems by specifying equipment, materials and methods that are best practices in the industry.

PG&E’s Applied Technologies Services (ATS) Materials Engineering & Corrosion group provides a range of services, which include failure analysis, condition assessments, and material specification testing.

Facility description: ATS has a metallurgical laboratory with an emphasis on Failure Analysis. The laboratory is equipped with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), several light microscopes, image analysis system, micro-hardness testers, and a mechanical testing lab.

Position Summary

The ATS Senior Failure Analysis Engineer will utilize engineering consulting principles, their expertise, and scientific work methods to identify, diagnose and solve technical problems. They will independently lead failure analysis and miscellaneous engineering testing projects supporting the development, execution, data analysis, and report of failure analysis and materials testing. The ATS Senior Engineer is expected to utilize engineering first principles to establish inspections, failure analysis, performance assessments, and component evaluations for the different lines of business. They will be capable of using advanced data analytics to integrate failure analysis and testing results into asset management strategies for various lines of business. They should have a strong understanding of various material failure modes, including comprehensive knowledge of non-destructive (NDE) and destructive examination techniques, as well as material and manufacturing processing techniques. Ideally, they will possess extensive expertise in quality and reliability testing of mechanical assemblies, electrical components rated above 60 Volts, and related materials. The ideal candidate will have a broad testing background including experience testing components under dynamic or static forces (e.g., tensile and impact testing), material properties (e.g., hardness and metallography), and chemical testing (e.g., FT-IR, LIBS). Materials they will most likely encounter on the job are Steels (pipes, valves, vessels), Aluminum (wire, fittings, connectors), Copper (wire, valves), and ceramics (insulators).

This role will occasionally lead miscellaneous engineering and test projects based upon their area of specialty (e.g., corrosion, coatings, thermal analysis, finite element analysis, etc.) Additionally, the preferred candidate should have experience in evaluating business conditions to identify opportunities for innovation, cost reduction, and process improvement.

Travel requirement: 10-30% of the time, throughout the PG&E territory.

PG&E is providing the salary range that the company in good faith believes it might pay for this position at the time of the job posting. This compensation range is specific to the locality of the job.  The actual salary paid to an individual will be based on multiple factors, including, but not limited to, specific skills, education, licenses or certifications, experience, market value, geographic location, and internal equity.  Although we estimate the successful candidate hired into this role will be placed towards the middle or entry point of the range, the decision will be made on a case-by-case basis related to these factors.​

A reasonable salary range is:

• Minimum Base Salary (Bay Area)    $122,000.00
• Mid Base Salary (Bay Area)    $158,000.00
• Maximum Base Salary (Bay Area)    $194,000.00

Responsibilities

• Completes assignments of broad scope and complexity with few precedents or standards requiring integration of information from a variety of sources.
• Performs lead role in determining scope, schedule, budget, and resources needed including developing test protocols, models, technologies and analyzing data.
• Provides some coaching and oversight to lower-level peers. Reviews test designs of lower-level peers to determine applicability, feasibility and if objectives of project will be obtained.
• May assist higher level peers on the most complex and innovative tests.
• Is an SME in a specialized discipline of Failure Analysis (e.g., Corrosion, Thermodynamics, Batteries, ANSYS Modeling)
• Collaborate with peers to prepare technical reports and specifications and to identify, define, and solve problems.
• Evaluates performance of components or equipment under simulated operating conditions, and records results.
• Compiles project test results and prepares presentations, recommendations for client and/or ATS leadership.
• Modifies electrical prototypes, parts, assemblies, and systems to correct functional deviations. Continually identifies testing or process improvements.
• Identifies innovations and cost-reduction potential of new and existing technologies.
• Determines customer expectations and ensures project deliverables meet customer satisfaction objectives.

Qualifications

Minimum:

• Bachelor's degree in engineering with emphasis in a discipline related to assignments. (i.e., materials, mechanical, chemical, or electrical engineering, etc.)
• 5 years of related experience 

Desired:

• Possess a Graduate Level degree in Engineering, Professional Engineering License, or equivalent.
• Experience with statistical analysis and data interpretation with the ability to present complex data and technical information in a simple and easy to understand manner.
• Experience with leading project teams including defining scope, creating a plan, and scheduling the work.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a team environment managing multiple complex tasks to achieve significant goals.
• Previously lead and operated a diverse range of material & mechanical properties testing equipment (e.g., hardness testers, SEM, optical microscopes, metallography, etc.)
• Experience performing root cause analysis on component failure mechanisms.
• Experience with developing and executing Asset Risk Management programs.
• Experience working in the gas, electric or electric power generation industries.
• Experience designing and executing performance and reliability testing.
• Basic knowledge in thermodynamics, heat transfer and fluid mechanics.
• Familiarity with computational fluid dynamics (CFD), MATLAB or Python.
• Possess coatings related certifications (e.g., NACE Coating Inspector Level 1, SSPC Protective Coatings Specialist, NACE Cert. Coating Inspector Level III) or Corrosion Related Certifications (e.g., NACE Senior Corrosion Technologist, NACE Cathodic Protection Technologist (CP-3), and NACE Cathodic Protection Specialist (CP-4))
• Comfortable with computers: familiar with MS Outlook, Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint
• Outstanding communication, presentation and interpersonal skills working within all levels of the organization.