Senior Precision Stage Architect V E5

Senior Precision Stage Architect

Role

Summary:

Owns the end-to-end architecture of high‑precision motion stages and their mechatronic subsystems, spanning mechanical structure, actuation, sensing, metrology, and motion control. Sets the technical direction for stage performance—translating positioning, dynamic, and throughput requirements into a coherent mechanical/control co‑design—and serves as the senior technical authority guiding the multidisciplinary team that executes it.

• Completes definition and design of complex precision‑stage mechanical components, modules, and mechatronic sub‑systems, treating mechanics and controls as a co‑designed system rather than separate disciplines.
• Defines the control system architecture for precision stages—servo loop topology, loop partitioning, feed forward strategy, sensor/actuator selection, and the mechanical/control trade‑offs that govern positioning accuracy, repeatability, and settling time.
• Sets and drives the technical direction for stage controls: establishes the controls roadmap, error budgets, and quantitative performance targets (nanometer‑class positioning, dynamic following error, settling time, throughput), and directs the engineers working against them.
• Regarded as the technical expert in precision motion and stage control. Demonstrates in‑depth expertise in own discipline (mechanics + motion control) and broad knowledge of adjacent disciplines (electrical, physics, algorithms, software) within the function.
• Anticipates business and regulatory issues; recommends product, process, or service improvements.
• Solves unique and complex problems with broad impact on the business; requires conceptual and innovative thinking to develop solutions across the mechanical–control boundary.
• Impacts the direction and resource allocation for program, project, or services; works within general functional policies and industry guidelines.
• Contributes to the system engineering specification both within precision stage/control expertise and broadening into other disciplines.
• Develops dynamic models of stage mechanics (structural dynamics, resonances, mass/stiffness budgets) and integrates them with control design, including active vibration isolation, disturbance rejection, and damping strategies.
• Specifies and integrates position feedback and metrology (laser interferometers, encoders, capacitive/optical sensors) together with real‑time control hardware (motion controllers, FPGA/DSP, drives, amplifiers) and the full sensor‑to‑actuator signal chain.
• Defines, tunes, and validates multi‑axis servo loops, feed forward, and trajectory/motion profiles to meet positioning and dynamic performance under production conditions.
• Ensures designs meet Market Requirement Specifications (MRS). Coordinates with project marketing and management to understand subsystem requirements.
• Chairs architecture brainstorming meetings and drives the systems process to down‑select to a final stage architecture, including the control system architecture and the mechanical/control partition.
• Conducts detailed engineering analysis of subsystems—control‑loop stability and bandwidth analysis, error budgeting, modal/structural dynamics, thermal and dynamic error sources—using deep design knowledge in field of expertise and broadening into other disciplines.
• Assists in creating concepts for architectural design approaches. Evaluates competing architectures (mechanical and control) to recommend the best overall system solution.
• Builds and qualifies prototypes of new stage designs, or procures entire subsystems from outsourced suppliers and tests for compliance with detailed specifications, including control performance qualification.
• Identifies and troubleshoots difficult engineering problems — including servo instability, control‑loop tuning, vibration, and dynamic error sources — as well as serviceability and manufacturability.
• Partners with electrical, firmware, and software teams on real‑time control implementation, sampling/latency budgets, and controller‑to‑drive integration.
• Supports system integration during assembly and final test of new product designs.
• Performs and coordinates tests…