Project Engineer; Spector

Project Engineer (Spector)

Location:

US - NJ - Somerset

ABOUT VEECO Veeco's Spector ion-beam deposition (IBD) systems are at the center of a manufacturing ramp driven by surging demand for high-speed optical interconnects in AI data centers. As a Project Engineer, you will own the end-to-end delivery of these complex capital equipment systems — from engineering design release through final customer acceptance — ensuring each unit ships on time, on budget, and ready for production.

You will coordinate across engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, quality, and field service in a matrixed environment where your ability to align competing priorities directly determines whether Veeco meets accelerating customer commitments. The decisions you make on schedule trade-offs, risk mitigation, and engineering change implementation will shape Veeco's ability to capture a rapidly expanding market opportunity in semiconductor process equipment.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own project delivery end-to-end:
  Manage the full lifecycle of Spector IBD system builds — from design release through factory acceptance testing and shipment — holding cross-functional teams accountable to cost, schedule, and quality targets.
• Identify and resolve delivery risks early:
  Assess engineering, procurement, and manufacturing risk factors weekly; develop and execute mitigation plans that protect on-time delivery commitments to customers.
• Lead engineering change implementation:
  Run weekly Engineering Change Order (ECO) reviews with contract manufacturers, producing prioritized action plans with defined cut-in points (the specific unit or date at which a design change takes effect in production) for both new-build and sustaining programs.
• Serve as the customer's primary project contact:
  Communicate project status, technical milestones, and schedule changes directly to customers, translating internal complexity into clear, actionable updates.
• Coordinate electrical and mechanical design deliverables:
  Track and integrate project deliverables across electrical and mechanical engineering teams, escalating interdependencies and blockers before they become schedule delays.
• Report execution against plan to operations leadership:
  Deliver concise weekly status reports that highlight variance to schedule, root cause, and corrective actions — giving leadership the information needed to make resource decisions.
• Advance process improvements that accelerate future builds:
  Identify repeatable inefficiencies in the build process and propose changes to standard work, planning tools, or cross-functional workflows that reduce cycle time for subsequent system deliveries.

QUALIFICATIONS

• A Bachelor's degree in engineering (mechanical, electrical, industrial, or a related discipline), or an equivalent combination of education and hands-on experience.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in project engineering or project management within a manufacturing or capital equipment environment.
• Demonstrated experience managing cross-functional project teams through full build cycles of complex electromechanical systems.
• Working knowledge of enterprise resource planning systems (e.g., SAP) and project scheduling tools (e.g., Microsoft Project or equivalent).
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally (up to 15%) to support collaboration across locations and key phases of delivery.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Schedule and risk management:
  Proven track record of building and maintaining integrated project schedules, identifying critical-path risks, and driving mitigation actions across multiple work streams simultaneously.
• Technical fluency across engineering disciplines:
  Ability to read and interpret mechanical drawings and electrical schematics well enough to facilitate productive conversations between design engineers, contract manufacturers, and quality teams.
• Clear, audience-adapted communication:
  Skilled at distilling complex project data into concise written summaries and verbal updates tailored to the audience — whether a customer executive, a supply chain planner, or a factory technician.
• Engineering change order management:
  Familiarity with ECO workflows, revision control,…