Process Sustaining Engineer Senior

About Sky Water

Bold Thinking. World Changing. At Sky Water, our ingenuity helps improve lives around the world by manufacturing U.S. made semiconductors that are essential ingredients of modern life. Automotive safety enhancements, life‑saving medical devices, consumer electronics and American security require semiconductors. Working in our Minnesota headquarters, Florida, or Texas location - employees join together to improve the world.

Explore what’s possible. Joining our U.S. – based team means contributing to and learning about the commercialization of some of the most exciting technologies the world has ever seen. We are turning “science fiction” into everyday reality through technologies such as superconducting, 3D integrated circuits or computer chips, carbon nanotubes, photonic logic devices, micro electro‑mechanical systems and other emerging device topologies.

We manufacture products for aerospace and defense, medical, automotive, consumer and industrial markets, to name a few. Our customers include emerging leaders who rely on our intellectual property security and quality manufacturing services.

Step into the future. Sky Water’s values of Integrity, Excellence, Collaboration, Empowerment and Growth Mindset guide us to cultivate an empowered, learning environment. We also invest in developing highly skilled, dedicated employees – and employees who are entering the workforce for the first time, from the military, and a variety of educational backgrounds.

Are you bold thinking? Find your place on our team and help us change the world!

We are looking for an experienced, hardworking and passionate Diffusion Process Engineer. An engineer in this role is responsible for ensuring quality output, timely processing of product through the equipment and assistance with developing next generation processes on their tools. Seeking an individual that can operate with a high degree of autonomy leading process development, hands‑on troubleshooting, and a structured continuous‑improvement roadmap to improve yield, reliability, and cost.

Excellent analytical, oral and written communication skills are required to effectively and efficiently communicate ideas with foundry customers, colleagues, and management.

• Serve as process module owner for pre‑clean and rapid thermal processing equipment (RTP).
• Lead root‑cause analysis investigations of excursions with practical, data‑driven solutions utilizing common engineering tools (SPC, FDC, BKMs). Execute structured problem solving (5
  
  Whys, Fishbone, 8D) with clear containment, corrective actions, and verification of effectiveness.
• Partner with Integration/Yield/PIE on experiments, risk assessments, and POR updates. Design, execute, and analyze DOEs to solve complex problems and develop next generation solutions for our platform and non‑platform customers.
• Develop, setup, qualify and document processes for newly acquired equipment or tool upgrades.
• Drive tool matching and recipe standardization across multiple platforms. Deploy APC/FDC thresholds and health dashboards; reduce alarms and false positives while increasing early warning sensitivity.
• Improve Cp/Cpk, defect density, tool uptime (MTBF/MTTR), throughput, chemistry consumption, and cost per wafer metrics.
• Author and maintain specs, BKMs, work instructions, training, FMEAs and SPC charts; mentor junior engineers/technicians.
• Work with minimal supervision, balancing competing priorities, to serve the needs of the company.

Education:

B.S. in Mechanical/Electrical/Chemical/Materials Engineering, Physics or related +8 years; MS + 6 years;
PhD + 3 years.

• Demonstrated knowledge of pre‑clean and RTP process troubleshooting using structured problem‑solving methodology.
• Proven autonomy leading process development via DOE with ability to solve unfamiliar process issues.
• Fluent with fab systems and analytics: MES, SPC/FDC, JMP or Minitab (Python/SQL a plus).
• Positive interpersonal skills, highly energetic and self‑motivated.
• Demonstrated ability to meet commitments and deliver results.
• Ability to manage and execute multiple projects simultaneously and shift priorities to…