Head of Hardware Reliability & Failure Analysis
Halter · Auckland, New Zealand · 6mo ago
About Halter
At Halter, we’re on a mission to enable farmers and graziers to run the most productive and sustainable operations. Our customers are using Halter to break free from the time-intensive constraints of conventional practices. Imagine watching 500 cattle stand up and walk calmly towards their next break? No quad bikes, no dogs, no fences. Just a group of cattle walking at their own pace. People say it looks like magic. Our customers are revolutionizing grazing with Halter. It's changing lives and transforming an industry. People join Halter to do meaningful work. By joining us you’ll be solving challenging problems within a talented team and a culture built for high performance. Our team out-think, out-work and out-care. We’re committed to delivering real change in the world - this isn’t easy, and in truth, we love that it’s hard.
We’re backed to deliver on a mission that matters by Tier 1 investors including Founders Fund, Bessemer Venture Partners, BOND, DCVC, Blackbird, Promus Ventures, Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck and Icehouse ventures.
To find out more, visit our LinkedIn & Instagram.
Halter is flipping the livestock world on its head. We’re scaling fast across NZ, Aus, and the US, lining up multiple new international markets, and the stakes are high.
About the role
We are looking for a Head of Reliability and Failure Analysis to build and lead our in-house reliability function. Our collar is tough and built for the beating it takes day in and day out on a farm. We’ve iterated it to this point and learnt many tough lessons along the way. We’re looking for someone who can take reliability from a learned art to an applied science at Halter. Someone who can use a reliability program to accelerate Halters growth as a strategic advantage, to help us move forward confidently on multiple product lines in parallel.
This will be one of the most important roles we hire this year. Hardware is only getting more important strategically for Halter and you’ll be right at the core, making that happen. It’s a rare opportunity to accelerate your career with unique and valuable experience in a high-performance, fast-paced environment where reliability matters.
You will be a key member of our Senior Leadership team, reporting to the VP of Product & Engineering. You will lead three pillars of capability:
Reliability Engineering: define what "reliable" means, embed reliability into design decisions early, and ensure we've proven it.
Test Engineering: build repeatable, trustworthy evidence through robust test systems and data.
Failure Analysis: understand exactly how devices fail, drive corrective actions, and raise the bar.
What you’ll own
1) Define reliability, set the standards and keep them
Define reliability standards and what must be proven for each product and major change.
Turn real-world risk into clear requirements, test plans, and readiness gates.
Lead reliability sign-off for key milestones (including DVT and PVT readiness).
Drive a pragmatic approach to defining 'pass' and 'done.' Your outcomes will directly influence how we allocate our engineering resources—ensuring we focus on what truly matters, rather than trying to do it all.
Partner with design teams early in the product cycle to drive proactive reliability. You’ll influence architecture, material selection, and design margins before prototypes hit the lab.
2) Build evidence: test systems, data integrity, and repeatability
Build a world-class test engineering function that can run reliable, scalable testing.
Own chambers, rigs, DAQ systems, automation, test procedures, and calibration approaches.
Ensure test data is trustworthy, searchable, and used to make decisions.
Increase throughput without compromising evidence quality.
3) Root cause and corrective action that sticks
Lead failure analysis across field returns, and test failures.
Build and run the failure analysis lab capability and processes.
Drive disciplined investigation: symptoms → mechanism → root cause → corrective action → verification.
Close collaboration with design, production and supplier quality teams to surface clear insights and drive real improvements into the product over time. Farmers will notice the compounding impact of your work.
4) Build the team and the operating rhythm
Lead and grow brilliant teams across the three core pillars. The success of our hardware in the field will be a direct result of you and your team.
Set the cadence for reliability reviews, readiness gates, investigation reviews, and closure tracking.
Create clear inter Hardware Design, Firmware, Production, Supplier Quality, and Support/Operations.
What success looks like
We ship with confidence because we have clear evidence.
Field issues reduce over time, and when they happen we learn fast and fix permanently.
Reliability decisions are crisp, documented, and respected.
Test systems are scalable, repeatable, and produce data people trust.
The team is world-class and proud of the standard they hold.
Ultimately, Halter is globally renowned for our reliable hardware.
What we are looking for
Seasoned leader: 8+ years experience, ideally with high reliability IoT or consumer electronics devices.
Scale-up DNA: Experience in fast-scaling, high-accountability product environments.
Know the tools:
Deep experience with environmental testing, accelerated life testing, HALT/HASS, and reliability growth.
Experience with test jigs, instrumentation, DAQ and automation.
Proven track record: leading technical teams and building capability (people, process, and lab/test infrastructure).
Strong judgement: you know when to dig in, when to simplify, and when to stop the line.
Root cause & corrective action discipline: Deep experience owning a formal failure investigation and corrective action loop end-to-end. From system capture through to verified fix. You work with the right teams to close the loop permanently.
Ultimate collaborator: Ability to work cross-functionally with high standards and low ego.
Our Benefits
Delicious snacks and drinks are available for your daily flow.
Healthy body, healthy mind. We’re partnered with Southern Cross Health Insurance to support your well-being.
We offer 6 months of fully paid parental leave for primary caregivers, 4 weeks of fully paid secondary caregiver leave and many other parental benefits that support you and your family.
Our personal growth is important. Halter offers an annual $1000 self-development budget to be used for anything that fuels personal growth.
Our time to recharge is valued, we’re offered wellness leave and unlimited paid annual leave.
Importantly, we offer an inclusive and attractive remuneration package made up of salary, benefits and an employee stock ownership plan.
Our Office First Approach
There’s a reason you visit your friends in person, live with your family and don’t do dinners over Zoom. Humans are wired for connection. We believe a world-class, in-person office culture is the best way for high-performing teams.
Being office first is a core pillar of our culture. We believe in-person connections are key to driving your own growth, learning, impact, and building genuine long-lasting relationships. Strong relationships make it easier to disagree, give feedback, and do meaningful and aligned work. We don’t like having heaps of rules or policies, but this means having strong, trusted relationships is critical.
We’re office first, not office only. This means working from the office everyday is our default setting, but we flex when we need to. We have a high-trust culture, so everyone is trusted to do what’s best for Halter.
Our office vibe is something special, it’s hard to describe until you’re here, but people at Halter who have come from fully remote or hybrid companies say they could never go back - the high energy and spectacular people they are now surrounded by everyday makes work so enjoyable. Your growth, your learning and your impact is truly unlimited here, and a big part of that comes from being together solving problems, innovating, building context, and constantly learning from each other.
Join our team
Halter is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace — a place where we can each be ourselves and do the best work of our lives. Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the requirements, women and under-represented groups of candidates tend to only apply when they meet every requirement. If you think you have what it takes but don’t necessarily tick every requirement on this job description, please still get in touch and apply to Halter. We’d love to chat to see if you’ll be an epic fit!
If this opportunity sounds like you, please apply below by sending through your cover letter explaining why you’re excited about this role and working at Halter, along with your CV, and we’ll be in touch!
Please also feel free to check out the careers page for more information on working at Halter and don't forget to follow us on LinkedIn & Instagram.
Why our team loves working at Halter:
Work that genuinely matters. Every now and again a company comes along that transforms an entire industry and leaves the world in a better place. Our team gets to be part of something truly meaningful, helping farmers improve their livelihoods, spend more time with their families, and build more sustainable operations.
Spectacular people solving hard problems. Our culture is designed for talented people to do work that changes lives. The team is filled with diverse, kind, and driven people who push each other to do their best work. You'll be thrown into the deep end, tackling complex challenges and building something tangible that solves real problems.
You'll grow here. Autonomy, mastery, and learning define how we work. You'll have the freedom to work on interesting problems, master new skills, and continuously develop yourself, both through your role and our $1,000 personal growth fund.
This isn't easy, and we love that it's hard. Working at Halter will be the most rewarding and the most challenging work of your life. We move fast, take bold bets, and work hard to reshape an entire industry. As one team member put it: "Joining Halter is a bit like strapping yourself to a rocket ship, but it's an epic journey to be a part of!"