NPI Product Engineer - AI Compute Hardware
MatXJob Title
NPI Product Engineer - AI Compute Hardware
Role Summary
Serve as the technical bridge between engineering and manufacturing to own product readiness, qualification, and quality as MatX's AI chip, compute tray, and rack-scale platform move from design into production. Coordinate across hardware, mechanical, systems, test, supply chain, quality, and manufacturing teams to ensure products are built correctly, qualified on schedule, and ready to scale.
Position requires working from the Mountain View office on Tuesdays–Thursdays.
Experience Level
Mid-level — expects 5+ years of NPI or hardware product engineering experience introducing complex electronic products through EVT, DVT, and PVT with JDM/ODM or contract manufacturers.
Responsibilities
Primary responsibilities include:
- Own NPI from EVT through DVT and PVT; lead first article inspections, qualification reviews, and manufacturing readiness reviews with JDM/ODM partners.
- Partner with hardware, mechanical, electrical, systems, and program management to define product requirements, specifications, acceptance criteria, and NPI exit criteria; resolve DFM/DFT/DFA issues.
- Develop and drive product validation and qualification plans (functional, system-level, environmental, reliability) and coordinate component qualification with hardware engineering and supply chain.
- Act as the technical interface to JDM/ODM partners to ensure requirements and design intent are correctly translated into manufacturing and test coverage.
- Analyze defect trends and yield metrics (defect rate, first-pass yield, reliability); identify root causes and coordinate corrective actions to improve quality and yield.
- Own product-level ECO evaluation and implementation; drive readiness for transition from NPI to mass production.
- Maintain NPI product documentation (specifications, qualification reports, validation plans, test procedures, quality records) and communicate product risks and readiness to engineering and leadership.
Requirements
Must-have skills and experience:
- Proven NPI or hardware product engineering experience with complex electronic assemblies (PCB, servers, AI compute, networking).
- Deep understanding of the product development lifecycle through validation, qualification, and production ramp, including DFM, DFT, and DFA.
- Experience defining and executing validation and qualification plans and tracking quality metrics (defect rate, first-pass yield, reliability).
- Experience analyzing product defects, yield data, and field/manufacturing failures; conducting root-cause analysis and driving corrective actions.
- Direct experience working with JDM/ODM partners on product reviews, qualification, issue resolution, and production readiness.
- Familiarity with BOM management, ECO processes, component qualification, configuration control, and PLM tools (e.g., Arena, Agile).
- Strong cross-functional collaboration and communication skills; ability to present product status, risks, and quality data to leadership.
- Must be authorized to work in the United States and able to comply with U.S. export control laws for access to controlled information.
Nice-to-have (preferred):
- Experience with high-power AI accelerators, GPU servers, or custom ASIC product introduction.
- Familiarity with liquid cooling system qualification and assembly.
- Experience with OCP Open Rack platform qualification and data center rack integration.
- Knowledge of IPC standards (IPC-A-610, IPC-6012, IPC-7711/7721).
- Familiarity with JTAG, ICT, or boundary-scan testing methodologies.
- Experience with statistical process control and process capability analysis; background in reliability engineering (FMEA, accelerated life testing).
Education Requirements
Not specified.
About the Company
Company: MatX
Headquarters: Mountain View, California, USA
MatX specializes in creating faster chips for large language models (LLMs), focusing on innovative hardware and software solutions. The company fosters a collaborative and supportive work environment, welcoming candidates of all experience levels. Their approach prioritizes deep understanding and consideration of novel methods to drive efficiency and performance in their projects, particularly in silicon design and related engineering roles.
