Engineering Manager - AI Server RMA (Field Repair) Operation

About the job

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.