Senior Development Engineer - Early Career

Senior Development Engineer - Early Career

At Seagate, our mission is to build the world's best data storage devices. The Advanced Transducer Development group is a global R&D organization developing new recording head technologies to advance areal density and support Seagate's HDD product roadmap. Our process team uses state-of-the-art wafer fabrication tools and cleanroom facilities to develop leading-edge writer and read-sensor technologies.

Our team demonstrates the feasibility of new devices, process modules, materials, and integration concepts. If you enjoy semiconductor process development, hands-on fabrication, and solving complex device-build challenges, this could be an excellent opportunity to advance your R&D career.

• Develop and integrate wafer-level fabrication processes for advanced nanoscale devices, from concept through prototype demonstration.
• Translate device concepts into practical wafer process flows, experimental plans, test structures, metrology strategies, and success criteria.
• Plan and execute prototype wafer builds, including wafer starts, experiment sequencing, work-in-process decisions, wafer tracking, and coordination of critical steps.
• Collaborate with engineers in lithography, deposition, dry and wet etch, CMP, cleans, and metrology to establish process readiness and integrate new modules into complete device flows.
• Use in-line, materials, and device-level characterization to assess geometry, material properties, defects, performance, and reliability.
• Analyze process and metrology data to identify variation, defect mechanisms, yield loss, and gaps between design intent and fabricated structures.
• Develop process windows and control strategies that improve repeatability, manufacturability, yield, and compatibility with upstream and downstream processes.
• Design and execute structured experiments using statistical methods to optimize processes and resolve complex integration issues.
• Document and communicate technical results, participate in technology transfer, and contribute to Seagate intellectual property.

• You are self-motivated, intellectually curious, detail-oriented, and energized by hands-on technical problem solving.
• You can connect individual process results to the performance of a complete device or integrated wafer flow.
• You work effectively both independently and with diverse, cross-functional teams of engineers and technicians.
• You are comfortable owning a process module or wafer-build activity while collaborating with experts in adjacent areas.
• You balance immediate wafer-processing priorities with longer-term process and module development.
• You use data, physical reasoning, and structured experimentation to make decisions and solve problems.
• You maintain thorough documentation and communicate results, risks, and recommendations clearly.
• You are able and eager to work in a combination of cleanroom, laboratory, and office environments.

• Hands-on experience with semiconductor, MEMS, magnetic-device, photonic-device, or other wafer-level fabrication in an R&D, pilot-line, cleanroom, or manufacturing environment.
• Experience developing or integrating process modules composed of multiple wafer-fabrication steps.
• Broad working knowledge of several semiconductor unit processes, such as photolithography, thin-film deposition, plasma etch, wet etch, cleans, CMP, thermal processing, wafer bonding, or wafer-level metrology.
• Experience creating and executing wafer process flows, build plans, experiments, or process qualifications.
• Experience using physical or electrical characterization data to assess process performance, device geometry, materials, interfaces, defects, or device functionality.
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot process interactions, perform root-cause analysis, and implement corrective actions.
• Experience applying statistical methods such as DOE, regression, ANOVA, statistical process control, or process-capability analysis.

You May Also Have:

• Experience with CAD layout, mask-level planning, design-rule review, or process-flow visualization and simulation.
• Experience with device-level test, failure analysis, reliability characterization, yield analysis, or defect pareto analysis.
• Experience working with equipment suppliers or transferring processes from R&D into pilot-line or manufacturing operation.
• Familiarity with JMP, Python, R, MATLAB, or similar data-analysis tools.
• A record of innovation through patents, invention…