Quality Manager – AI Server RMA (Field Repair) Operation
Houston, TX
Full Time
Experienced
Quality Manager –
AI Server RMA (Field Repair) Operation
Position SummaryThe Quality Manager leads quality operations for AI server RMA, depot and field repair, rework, failure analysis, testing, and return-to-customer activities.
This role ensures complex AI/HPC server systems, including GPU/accelerator platforms, high-speed networking, power systems, firmware, and direct liquid cooling (DLC), meet customer, engineering, safety, workmanship, and ISO 9001 requirements.
A key responsibility is turning field and RMA data into corrective actions that reduce repeat failures, No Trouble Found (NTF), repair escapes, and customer complaints.
Key Responsibilities
RMA & Repair Quality
- Own quality controls throughout the RMA lifecycle from receiving and diagnosis through repair, testing, release, and return to service.
- Establish inspection, acceptance, and release criteria for servers, racks, compute nodes, FRUs, and cooling systems.
- Ensure compliance with work instructions, engineering specifications, configuration controls, ESD, and workmanship requirements.
- Establish Quality Hold, Stop Ship, containment, escalation, and release criteria.
- Maintain product, component, repair, and test-result traceability.
- Prevent unresolved, intermittent, or repeat defects from reaching customers.
- Lead structured problem solving using 8D, CAPA, 5 Why, Fishbone, Fault Tree, Pareto, and DOE, as appropriate.
- Drive investigations from symptom → failure mode → physical cause → escape point → systemic root cause.
- Partner with engineering on hardware, cooling, networking, power, firmware, and configuration failures.
- Ensure corrective actions address both defect occurrence and failure of existing detection/prevention controls.
- Verify corrective-action effectiveness and prevention of recurrence.
Quality Systems & Customer Support
- Maintain compliance with applicable ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ANSI/ESD S20.20, customer, engineering, and IPC requirements.
- Support audits, NCR/MRB, CAPA, document/change control, calibration, training, supplier quality, and risk management.
- Serve as the Quality lead for customer complaints and major field escalations.
- Lead containment, customer 8Ds, root-cause investigations, corrective actions, and closure.
- Support Stop Ship and fleet-level containment when required.
- Establish quality gates for diagnosis, repair, component replacement, liquid-loop verification, functional/stress testing, final inspection, and release.
- Implement standardized defect/repair codes, electronic travelers, serial-number traceability, test-data retention, error-proofing, and layered audits.
- Monitor key metrics including RMA rate, repeat repair, FPY, repair yield, NTF, defect escapes, DOA after repair, customer complaints, and CAPA/8D aging.
- Use Pareto and trend analysis to identify systemic field-quality risks.
- Support new AI server introductions and participate in PFMEA, Control Plan, ECN/ECO, engineering change, and repair-readiness reviews.
- Lead and develop Quality Engineers, inspectors, technicians, and supporting personnel.
- Manage staffing, training, qualification, performance, and technical development.
- Build a culture where employees are empowered to stop the process when product integrity or customer quality is at risk.
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Industrial, Manufacturing, Quality Engineering, or related technical discipline.
- 5+ years of experience in electronics manufacturing, server hardware, repair/RMA, or quality engineering.
- 3+ years of Quality leadership or management experience.
- Strong knowledge of ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems.
- Demonstrated experience with 8D, CAPA, RCA, 5 Why, PFMEA, Control Plans, SPC, and Pareto analysis.
- Experience with complex electronics, data-center hardware, server repair, manufacturing, or RMA operations.
- Knowledge of ESD controls and electronic-product handling.
- Experience leading customer-facing investigations and corrective actions.
- Ability to interpret engineering drawings, specifications, BOMs, test results, and technical work instructions.
- Strong analytical, leadership, communication, and cross-functional problem-solving skills.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with:
- AI or GPU server platforms
- Direct liquid cooling
- Server/datacenter RMA and field repair
- Electronics failure analysis and reliability testing
- Firmware/configuration management
- Customer 8D and supplier corrective actions
- PFMEA, Control Plans, and NPI
- ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE)
- ASQ CMQ/OE
- Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt
- ISO 9001 Lead/Internal Auditor
The successful candidate must be comfortable leading investigations spanning mechanical, electrical, thermal, cooling, firmware, software, and manufacturing processes. The role requires sufficient technical depth to challenge assumptions, evaluate objective evidence, determine containment boundaries, identify systemic risk, and ensure corrective actions prevent recurrence.
Ideal candidates combine hands-on quality expertise, strong customer leadership, and data-driven problem solving with experience supporting high-complexity AI server repair operations.
What changed: I reduced detailed component lists, combined overlapping QMS/customer responsibilities, and shortened the process and analytics sections. The posting still preserves the critical screening terms for the role, particularly AI/HPC, GPU servers, DLC, RMA, ISO 9001, 8D/CAPA/RCA, NPI, and customer quality leadership.
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