---
title: 'Hardware Reliability Engineer at Skip'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/hardware-reliability-engineer-skip-san-francisco-f77vrymrgqpp'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-05'
---

# Hardware Reliability Engineer at Skip

- **Company:** Skip
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-05-19
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-05
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/skip/dc2bfc5f-b716-4712-b8d0-f9c15ddc44d7

## Job description

Skip is on a mission to make life joyful through powered movement.

Movement is a powerful way to build physical, mental and social health. Yet it is elusive for 2 billion people due to age, injury, or disability. We are building products that will restore mobility for millions and enable a new frontier of joyful movement experiences. We want to build a future where a grandparent can easily outrun their grandkids and no one is left behind at the trailhead.

Skip is a 22-person early-stage start-up that spun out of Google X in 2023. With deep cross-disciplinary expertise and key partnerships (e.g. with Arc’teryx) we are uniquely positioned to launch the first commercially successful wearable robotic device, the MO/GO, develop a platform to launch future Movewear products and transform millions of lives in the coming years.

## The Role

As our Hardware Reliability Engineer, you will be the person who makes sure our products don't just work in the lab -- they work on real humans, in real conditions, for a long time. You will own the reliability testing program for the MO/GO and future Skip products, from defining test plans and failure modes through execution, analysis, and closure. On a small team building first-of-kind hardware, reliability isn't a gate at the end of the process -- it's woven into every build.

This is an IC role on a flat team of 22 exceptional engineers where everyone contributes directly. You'll work closely with mechanical, electrical, firmware, and manufacturing to understand failure modes before they find users.

## What You'll Do

- Own the reliability testing program for Skip's wearable devices -- design test plans, define pass/fail criteria, execute testing across EVT/DVT/PVT builds, and track results through to closure
- Develop and maintain FMEA (DFMEA/PFMEA) for mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical subsystems, translating failure mode analysis into actionable test coverage
- Design and run accelerated life testing (ALT), HALT, HASS, and environmental stress screening to uncover failure modes before they reach users
- Build and maintain test fixtures, rigs, and custom tooling for cyclic, fatigue, wear, and environmental testing of device subsystems
- Lead root cause analysis (RCA) for reliability failures and field returns -- dig into the physics of failure and drive corrective actions through to verification
- Define and track reliability metrics and KPIs across the product lifecycle; own the reliability sections of design review documentation
- Partner with the NPI and manufacturing teams to ensure production processes don't introduce new failure modes, and that incoming components meet reliability requirements
- Wear prototypes several hours a week to participate in on-body testing and provide firsthand feedback from the user perspective
- Bring joy to the team, participate in embarrassing team events, and tolerate KZ's terrible music choices

## What We're Looking For

- 5+ years of experience in hardware reliability, durability testing, or product validation in a professional setting
- Hands-on experience designing and executing reliability test programs for electromechanical products -- consumer electronics, medical devices, robotics, or powered consumer products
- Strong command of reliability engineering fundamentals: FMEA, HALT/HASS, accelerated life testing, Weibull analysis, failure mode physics
- Experience building or operating test fixtures and environmental test equipment (thermal chambers, vibration tables, cyclic rigs)
- Solid root cause analysis skills -- comfortable using 8D, 5-Why, fishbone, and failure analysis tools to get to physics-of-failure explanations
- Able to deliver results independently in a fast-paced, early-stage environment where the reliability playbook is still being written
- Ability to relocate to or already based in the Bay Area
- Sense of humour; tolerant of Aussie & Canadian spelling

## Nice to Have

- Experience with wearable devices, powered exoskeletons, orthotics, or body-worn electromechanical products
- Familiarity with medical device reliability frameworks (IEC 62368, ISO 13485, IEC 60601) -- the rigor translates even if we're not FDA-regulated yet
- Experience with on-body or biomechanical testing, including human subject data collection
- Background in fatigue analysis or materials failure for soft goods, textiles, or flexible structures
- Personal motivation to improve human movement and make the world more accessible

Skip is an equal opportunity employer. Our hiring decisions are based on need and competence to satisfy said need. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other legally protected status.

Any and all offers of employment extended by Skip are conditional on candidates’ ability to provide satisfactory proof of eligibility to maintain full-time employment in the United States.

## About Skip

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Skip develops powered movewear (wearable exoskeleton pants) that supports human movement, making walking, hiking, and daily mobility easier for people experiencing age‑related decline, injury, or disability.
- **Entity Type**: Private (seed‑stage; raised $6 M in total funding)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: Kathryn Zealand (CEO & Co‑Founder), Anna Roumiantseva (Co‑Founder & CPO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Wearable robotics / consumer health & wellness / mobility technology
- **Target customers**: B2C (active older adults, hikers, people with knee pain or mobility challenges) – “the missing middle” that is neither fully disabled nor fully able
- **Mission**: “Make life joyful through powered movement” — aiming to restore mobility for millions and enable a future where no one is left behind at the trailhead

## Products & Services
- **[MO/GO™](https://www.skipwithjoy.com/)**: The company’s first movewear product — lightweight, apparel‑integrated exoskeleton “powered pants” that provide assistance on inclines and descents, reducing strain on muscles and joints. Built from learnings in exoskeleton force transfer, AI/ML movement interpretation, comfortable wearable design, and consumer‑tech UX. Released in partnership with Arc’teryx for testing/co‑branding (2024).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly available
- **Key Metric (Funding)**: $6 M total funding — a $3 M Seed Round and a $3 M Grant, both closed in July 2024 ([LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/skipwithjoy)).  
  *Note: Tracxn lists the company as “unfunded” but is likely outdated or misclassifying grants; the LinkedIn data is more recent.*
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Spun out of **X, The Moonshot Factory** (Google’s moonshot lab). Partnership with **Arc’teryx** for the MO/GO launch. Founding team includes alumni of Google X.
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew +62.9 % year‑over‑year to 16 employees (as of mid‑2026). Three open roles posted (Software Engineer, Test; Firmware Engineer; Founding Marketing Lead). Company featured in National Geographic (CEO Kathryn Zealand named a National Geographic 33 honoree). Active in academic research — published a study on hip exoskeleton assistance for people with Parkinson’s disease in *Frontiers in Robotics and AI*.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Deep tech heritage**: Founders and many team members came from Google X, giving access to years of exoskeleton and force‑transfer research.
- **New product category (“Movewear”)**: First mover in blending robotic exoskeleton technology with stylish, consumer‑friendly wearables — not just medical devices.
- **Strong brand storytelling**: The mission resonates emotionally (“Help a grandparent outrun their grandkids”) and has earned media coverage in NatGeo, CES spotlights, and AARP’s AgeTech Collaborative.
- **Focus on the “missing middle”**: Addresses a large underserved market (billions with age‑related or mild mobility issues) that is ignored by both medical exoskeletons and fitness trackers.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale manufacturing and distribution**: Moving from prototype/limited runs to broader consumer availability for MO/GO.
- **Build a world‑class engineering team**: Actively hiring firmware, test, and marketing leads to expand the 16‑person team.
- **Clinical validation & partnerships**: Continued publication of studies (e.g., Parkinson’s) and collaboration with organizations like the Michael J. Fox Foundation to establish credibility and open healthcare channels.
- **Expand product line**: Use the Movewear platform to create models for different activities and levels of support.

## Why Work Here
- **High‑impact, mission‑driven work**: Engineers directly improve physical mobility for millions of people.
- **Small, high‑density team**: 16 employees with a strong ratio of technical staff (9 in technical roles). Offers the chance to own large areas of the stack.
- **Culture rooted in moonshot thinking**: Spun out of Google X; employees have backgrounds from X, Harvard, Stanford, and top robotics firms.
- **Hybrid/Office presence**: HQ in San Francisco, California. Recent job posts specify location in San Francisco Bay Area, suggesting an on‑site or hybrid expectation.
- **Perks and environment**: Working on a tangible hardware + software product that users wear and love. The team is described as passionate about movement, joy, and inclusion — events like SF Design Week “Build Your Superpowers” highlight a fun, community‑focused culture.

## Sources
1. [Skip Official Website – About](https://www.skipwithjoy.com/aboutus)
2. [Skip Careers Page](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/skip) (via LinkedIn)
3. [Skip LinkedIn Company Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/company/skipwithjoy)
4. [Skip on DayOne.fm](https://dayone.fm/company/skip)
5. [Tracxn Company Profile](https://tracxn.com/d/companies/skip/__d5pUuD-03STihX3ls-azp7_yxK90CKdZqKMe_5V_ybk)

## Other roles at Skip

- [Mechatronics / Power Train Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/mechatronics-power-train-lead-skip-san-francisco-xhwqnn9yfnk4) — San Francisco, CA
- [Product Design Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/product-design-engineer-skip-san-francisco-wz4q1js4r7f0) — San Francisco, CA
- [Infrastructure Security Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/infrastructure-security-engineer-skip-san-francisco-3mj34y9pndec) — San Francisco, CA
- [Robotics Generalist](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-generalist-skip-san-francisco-sbhgas1my2n5) — San Francisco, CA
- [Soft Goods Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/soft-goods-designer-skip-san-francisco-txkrz0fb18r6) — San Francisco, CA
- [Firmware Engineering Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/firmware-engineering-lead-skip-san-francisco-zq25ysz3q2zn) — San Francisco, CA
- [Backend Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/backend-engineer-skip-san-francisco-ss58qjf9g74s) — San Francisco, CA
- [Engineering Program Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/engineering-program-manager-skip-san-francisco-0tzvkvdtzqsn) — San Francisco, CA
- [Software Engineer, Test](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-test-skip-san-francisco-hbhweafhbqbj) — San Francisco, CA
- [Motor Control Firmware Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/motor-control-firmware-engineer-skip-san-francisco-y1ha2rnpa2bq) — San Francisco, CA