Senior PECVD Process Engineer

Primary Duties & Responsibilities Process Development and Optimization

• Serve as the process owner for PECVD, developing, sustaining, and optimizing processes for GaAs and InP device manufacturing.
• Conduct process characterization and troubleshooting, working cross-functionally with R&D, production, and equipment teams.
• Apply Statistical Process Control (SPC) and Design of Experiments (DOE) to monitor and improve process stability and yield.
• Interface with equipment vendors to evaluate tool performance and upgrades.

• Serve as the technical owner for PECVD equipment and associated metrology.
• Lead troubleshooting efforts for process deviations, equipment issues, and yield excursions.
• Work with equipment vendors and maintenance personnel to improve tool performance, reliability, and uptime.
• Support equipment qualification, preventive maintenance, and continuous improvement activities.

• Support automated recipe download and verification for production tools.
• Work with automation and equipment teams to ensure correct recipe selection, parameter control, and lot tracking.
• Develop and maintain process limits, alarms, interlocks, and fault detection rules.
• Review tool and process data to identify trends, excursions, and early indicators of equipment or process issues.
• Support fault detection and classification systems to improve process control, reduce scrap, and prevent repeat excursions.
• Participate in automation improvements that improve tool utilization, data collection, traceability, and manufacturing consistency.

• Perform failure analysis and defect characterization to identify root causes of process variation.
• Develop and implement process improvements to increase yield, improve film quality, and reduce defectivity.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on productivity, equipment utilization, and process capability.

• Develop and maintain process documentation, work instructions, FMEAs, process specifications, and control plans.
• Train technicians and junior engineers on equipment operation, process control, troubleshooting, and best practices.
• Support new equipment installations, process qualifications, and technology transfers.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in semiconductor PECVD or thin films process engineering.

• Strong understanding of SiNx, SiOx, and other PECVD films, including the relationship between process parameters, gas chemistry, plasma conditions, chamber conditioning, clean cycles, and resulting film properties.
• Experience with thin-film metrology including ellipsometry, reflectometry, profilometry, FTIR, stress/bow measurement, SEM, or similar techniques.
• Experience in optimizing film thickness, RI, deposition rate, uniformity, stress, and film composition.
• Ability to work on-site in a semiconductor manufacturing and cleanroom environment.
• Ability to provide off-hours support as needed for critical manufacturing or equipment issues.
• Solid background in SPC, Gage R&R, DOE, and root cause analysis.
• Proficient in JMP, Excel, and other Microsoft Office software.
• Excellent documentation, troubleshooting, and communication skills.
• Experience with MES systems (e.g., Camstar) is a plus.

• Direct GaAs and/or InP process experience is highly desirable.
• Experience with high-volume semiconductor manufacturing.
• Knowledge of additional fab areas such as photolithography, etch, or metals.
• Familiarity with device-level impacts of film properties and process integration.

• Will be exposed to areas where hand tools…