Supplier Quality Engineer, Tape Storage

Google's custom-designed machines make up one of the largest and most powerful computing infrastructures in the world. The Hardware Testing Engineering team ensures that this cutting-edge equipment is reliable. In the R&D lab, you design test equipment for prototypes of our machinery and develop the protocols used to scale these tests for the entire global team. Working closely with design engineers, you give input on designs to improve our hardware until you're sure it meets Google's standards of quality and reliability.

With your technical expertise, you create test plans for highly complex platforms (e.g., validating the interaction of multiple pieces of equipment at the networking and subsystem levels), and using your deep knowledge of component design characteristics, you diagnose highly complex hardware or software issues.

In this role, you will join the team responsible for setting and managing the quality and reliability standards for our Tape Storage (including tape drives, media, and library automation) across Google. You are a Quality and Reliability expert with a track record of improving the quality of Tape storage systems during new product introduction (NPI) and maintaining it throughout its life cycle. You will have extensive involvement in the tools, processes and technologies used to assess tape drive mechanics, magnetic tape media, and robotic library automation quality and reliability. You will have excellent partner collaboration skills to sift through data and use it to drive design or manufacturing process improvements.

Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $144000 - $209000 (USD) + 15% bonus target + equity + benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate extensively with supplier design and factory teams to ensure tape drives, media, and libraries meet Google quality and reliability requirements.
• Track failure trends in production and data centers while driving continuous improvement and root-cause failure analysis with suppliers using structured methodologies (e.g., 8D, CAPA).
• Be responsible for supplier quality engineering (SQE) collaboration with the Design, Manufacturing and Commodity teams across all tape activities in NPI and sustaining.
• Ensure comprehensive failure analysis including corrective and preventive actions.
• Mitigate risks to Google through comprehensive supplier audits, process control audits, and regular quality reviews

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8 years of experience in tape drive, tape media, or tape library quality, reliability or manufacturing.
• Ability to travel up to 25% of the time as needed.

Preferred qualifications:

• Master's degree or PhD in Electrical, Mechanical, Industrial, Materials, or a related engineering field.
  
• 8 years of experience as a component, quality, reliability or product engineer in tape drive, media, or library commodities used in server and storage data center infrastructure equipment.
• Technical expertise in tape heads, magnetic recording, tape-to-head interface (tribology), LTO/Enterprise tape standards, and robotic automation mechanisms (pickers, actuators).
• Ability to thrive in ambiguity as an adaptable team player, detail oriented.
• Strong leadership, communication and relationship management skills.