Tool Engineer-Wafer Fabrication

Tool Engineer for Superconducting Device Fabrication Facility, Fundamental Physics Directorate

BOLD PEOPLE. VISIONARY SCIENCE. REAL IMPACT.

You are invited to apply for the position of Tool Engineer for the Detector Microfabrication Facility (DMF) in the Fundamental Physics Directorate (FPD) at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The Tool Engineer is responsible for the operation, maintenance, and repair of the DMF tool suite to ensure optimal performance and reliability of equipment to enable the fabrication of state-of-the-art superconducting microelectronics devices to support SLAC’s scientific mission.

The DMF tool suite includes a diverse set of fabrication tools; lithography, deposition, etch, wet chemistry stations and metrology tools, which the successful applicant will steward.

The Detector Microfabrication Facility (DMF) is an ISO-5 cleanroom with a dedicated toolset for the R&D and at-scale production of superconducting devices and sensors with high uniformity, complexity, yield, and reproducibility. In addition to a specialized toolset on 150mm wafers, the DMF also includes necessary capabilities for post-fabrication metrology, room-temperature and cryogenic characterization down to 10mK, and validation of functionality and performance of devices produced at the DMF.

The facility is envisioned to support DOE mission science by enabling collaborative research across universities, labs and industry in quantum information science and fundamental physics. The DMF is managed by the Fundamental Physics Directorate (FPD). The FPD brings together scientists and technologies that support national priorities in particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology to explore the basic particles and forces that knit the cosmos together.

As a member of the DMF core team, you will report to the DMF Operations Manager.

• Oversight of the operation, maintenance, and repair of fabrication and metrology tools to ensure optimal performance and reliability of the equipment.
• Re-qualify tools after maintenance or hardware changes.
• Identification and resolution of equipment malfunctions and process-related issues swiftly. Employ root cause analysis and implement corrective and preventive actions to minimize downtime.
• To develop and implement meticulous calibration and qualification protocols to ensure proper operation of tools in compliance with industry standards and laboratory specifications. To create and maintain detailed documentation of the calibration records.
• Improve hardware capability and reliability while maintaining safe operation.

• Extensive experience (10 years or more preferred) stewarding a broad range of microelectronics fabrication equipment including lithography, deposition and etch tools for optical microfabrication.
• Demonstrated excellence in disciplined operations at a research-scale cleanroom facility.
• Experience working in an environment dedicated to quality, safety and customer service.
• Ability to work within an interactive team structure in a constructive and collaborative manner and in a way that appropriately represents SLAC.
• Verbal and written communication skills to effectively build and maintain working partnerships.
• Propensity to take action, persevere through challenges, solve problems, and drive for on-time results within costs without sacrificing safety, quality, and core values.

SLAC is operated by Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science and is one of 17 DOE national laboratories - the most comprehensive research system of its kind in the world - providing strategic scientific and technological capabilities and expertise that cannot be found elsewhere. A major part of the Office of Science mission is supporting the development, construction, and operation of unique, open-access scientific user facilities.

The laboratory is home to three Office of Science user facilities: the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) and the Facility for Advanced Accelerator Experimental Tests (FACET-II).

SLAC sits on 426…