About the role
Engineering Manager - AI Server RMA (Field Repair) Operation Position Summary This position is responsible for the technical performance of the RMA operation, including server diagnostics, root-cause analysis, repair process development, liquid-cooling integrity, test validation, repair yield, and customer technical escalations. The successful candidate will combine strong technical expertise with hands-on factory leadership, managing engineers while partnering with Manufacturing, Quality, Test Engineering, Process Engineering, Supply Chain, Program Management, suppliers, and customer engineering teams. The objective is clear: rapidly restore customer systems while identifying and eliminating the root causes that drive repeat failures.
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Key Responsibilities Engineering & RMA Leadership * Lead engineers supporting customer returns, RMA repair, refurbishment, and field-failure investigations. * Establish standardized diagnostic, repair, validation, and engineering escalation processes. * Provide technical leadership for complex AI server failures that cannot be resolved through standard troubleshooting procedures. * Manage engineering resources based on customer severity, RMA aging, production impact, and business risk. * Develop engineers and technicians through coaching, technical training, certification, and structured problem-solving practices. * Drive failures through a disciplined process: symptom → reproduction → isolation → root cause → corrective action → validation → closure. * Reduce unnecessary component replacement, repeated troubleshooting, and No Trouble Found (NTF) cases. * Lead structured investigations using 8D, 5 Why, Fishbone, Pareto, FMEA, fault-tree analysis, DMAIC, and DOE, as appropriate. * Analyze RMA and field-failure data to identify product, process, supplier, firmware, workmanship, and test-coverage improvement opportunities. * Partner with Design, Manufacturing, Quality, suppliers, and customer engineering teams to implement permanent corrective actions. * Provide RMA lessons learned and Design-for-Serviceability/Repairability feedback into NPI and future AI server platforms.
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Key Performance Indicators * First Pass Yield (FPY) / Repair Yield * First Time Fix / First Time Right * Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) * RMA Turnaround Time & Aging * Repeat RMA / Repeat Failure Rate * No Trouble Found (NTF) Rate * Root-Cause & Corrective-Action Closure * Engineering Hold Aging
Success requires balancing repair speed, technical accuracy, product quality, cost, and customer satisfaction, rather than simply maximizing repair volume.
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Customer & Cross-Functional Leadership * Serve as a senior technical escalation point for critical customer and field issues. * Coordinate containment, failure reproduction, root-cause investigation, corrective action, validation, and effectiveness monitoring. * Lead technical reviews and communicate complex failures clearly to engineering, operations, customers, and executive leadership. * Work closely with Manufacturing, Quality, Test, Process Engineering, NPI, Program Management, Supply Chain, suppliers, and customer engineering organizations. * Ensure field-return data is translated into actionable improvements to manufacturing processes, test coverage, supplier quality, firmware, and product design.
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Required Qualifications Education * Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Electronics, Computer, Mechanical, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical discipline. * Equivalent relevant technical and leadership experience may be considered.
Experience * 5+ years of engineering experience in servers, computing, electronics, networking, high-tech manufacturing, or related industries. * 3+ years of engineering leadership or people-management experience. * Strong experience with system-level troubleshooting, failure analysis, manufacturing, repair, RMA, NPI, or field-return operations. * Demonstrated ability to lead complex root-cause investigations and corrective actions. * Experience working directly with customers, suppliers, or customer engineering organizations.
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Preferred Technical Qualifications Strong candidates will have experience with several of the following: * AI, GPU, HPC, hyperscale, or enterprise server platforms * GPU/CPU architecture, DDR memory, PCIe, NVMe, and high-speed networking * BMC, BIOS, firmware, telemetry, and system-event-log diagnostics * Liquid cooling, cold plates, QDs/QDCs, manifolds, coolant handling, flow/pressure fundamentals, and leak testing * High-volume electronics manufacturing and RMA operations * 8D, FMEA, SPC, DOE, CAPA, and Six Sigma methodologies * MES, PLM, QMS, ERP, and RMA tracking systems * ISO 9001 or similar quality-management environments * Accelerated-computing or advanced GPU server architectures
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Leadership Competencies The successful Engineering Manager will demonstrate: * Hands-on technical leadership and willingness to engage directly in complex debug situations * Strong root-cause and structured problem-solving discipline * Data-driven decision making and KPI ownership * Ability to lead engineering teams in a fast-paced factory/RMA environment * Strong customer focus and urgency without sacrificing technical rigor * Effective cross-functional and supplier leadership * Clear written, verbal, and executive-level communication * Ability to develop engineers, technical leads, and repair technicians
Above all, this leader understands the difference between replacing the failed part, repairing the system, and eliminating the root cause.
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