Senior Reliability Engineer, Gradient Comfort
$160-185k
+ Equity
4-5 days a week in office
Hybrid cooling and heating system
Be an early applicant
Hybrid cooling and heating system
21-100 employees
Be an early applicant
$160-185k
+ Equity
4-5 days a week in office
21-100 employees
Company mission
To cool the world by transforming every home to be more comfortable and healthy for the people who inhabit it.
Role
Who you are
- BS/MS in Mechanical, Electrical, Materials, or related engineering discipline
- 7–10+ years in reliability engineering for HVAC or electromechanical systems
- Expertise in lifetime modeling (Weibull, parametric life analysis, physics-of-failure modeling)
- Strong background in accelerated life testing, test design, and reliability statistics
- Proven ability to generate and validate acceleration factors and interpret degradation data accurately
- Hands-on experience with environmental chambers, vibration tables, corrosion testing, cycling rigs, and FA methods
Desirable
- Experience with heat pumps, VRF systems, inverter-driven compressors, or advanced control electronics
- Experience with IoT devices
- Familiarity with ASHRAE, AHRI, IEC, and DOE efficiency-related requirements
- Experience with HVAC product testing and validation
- Supplier reliability or DfR background for HVAC components
- Background in appliance safety, performance, and regulatory testing
- Familiarity with product certification processes and/or UL 60335
What the job involves
- Lead lifetime reliability strategy for HVAC components and systems
- You’ll develop predictive life models, design accelerated test methods, and drive durability improvements across the product lifecycle
- Lead lifetime reliability modeling for HVAC systems (compressors, motors, electronics, heat exchangers, refrigerant circuits)
- Build physics-of-failure–based life predictions; translate stress/usage profiles into field lifetime expectations
- Design and execute lifetime test plans: accelerated cycling, thermal fatigue, electrical endurance, corrosion, vibration, and mechanical stress tests
- Define acceleration factors, degradation metrics, failure thresholds, and end-of-life criteria
- Lead failure analysis of lifetime-related issues and drive corrective actions with design and manufacturing teams
- Develop Weibull/parametric life models and maintain qualification standards for new products and design changes
- Analyze field reliability data (warranty, service reports, returned units) to refine life models and update design limits
- Integrate lifetime reliability requirements early in design through DfR methods and cross-functional collaboration
- Strong documentation capability for reliability processes, test plans, models, and assumptions; mentor junior reliability engineers
Our take
The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) industry hasn’t really undergone much innovation in the last few decades. However with increasing awareness of climate change and growing regulations in this space, action is necessary to reduce the environmental damage caused by the increasing use of HVAC systems worldwide.
To solve this problem, Gradient has developed a hybrid air conditioner and room heater which reduces the carbon produced by as much as 95% when used to both heat and cool. It’s not the only company working on more environmentally friendly HVAC solutions, but what sets Gradient apart is that its window lodged device is much cheaper and easier to install as well as being quieter, and much less obtrusive than the average AC unit.
The company has attracted a large amount of investment, most recently in 2023 closing a Series A round which was co-led by Sustainable Future Ventures and Ajax Strategies. It is using this funding to develop new products, add further IoT functionality to its devices and increase its headcount. Gradient's environmentally friendly approach to heating and cooling puts it in a good position to capture a large share of the estimated $100 billion market for HVAC products.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
12% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 4 rounds)
Jun 2023
$9m
SERIES A
Feb 2023
$18m
SERIES A
Total funding: $33m
Company benefits
- Family friendly + paid family bonding leave policy
- Flexible and open vacation policy
- Employee-contributed 401k
- Access to a 2500 sq. ft. modern prototyping shop including a waterjet cutter, high-power laser cutter, 5-axis mill, lathe, and more
- Pet-friendly office is located in a historic building in San Francisco’s vibrant Mission district
- Health, dental, and vision benefits
- Equity
- Paid parental leave
- Commuter benefits
- Relocation package ( out of state applicants only )
Company HQ
Mission District, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Vince Romanin
(CEO)Former Research and Development Engineer at Otherlabs, from which Gradient emerged. Launched and was CEO of Treau in 2017, which was then rebranded as Gradient in 2021.
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