Associate Engineer, Equipment Engineering

ASE SEMICONDUCTOR (PENANG) SDN. BHD.; Bayan Lepas; On-site; MYR 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

ASE Semiconductor (Penang) Sdn. Bhd. seeks a dedicated equipment owner for SMT manufacturing platforms to safeguard uptime and process stability.

The role covers Vitrox AOI, Heller and ASM reflow ovens, and ESD monitoring systems across the production floor. You will lead preventive maintenance, monitor health metrics, analyze downtime, and implement corrective actions to maintain high-quality output. Collaboration with engineering and production teams is essential to drive reliability

Responsibilities

• Maintain day-to-day equipment stability through health monitoring, runtime analysis, heat map trend monitoring, downtime response and escalation management, preventive maintenance planning, PM execution verification, equipment walk-through inspections, and early detection of abnormalities.
• Perform reliability engineering activities including weekly downtime analysis, root cause analysis, CAPA implementation, PM quality auditing, maintenance effectiveness verification, spare parts strategy reviews, failure trend monitoring and risk mitigation.
• Support factory continuous improvement initiatives in reliability, PM optimization and standardization, cost reduction through repair and refurbishment, and technical coaching and knowledge transfer.
• Provide engineering governance to sustain stable SMT manufacturing operations.

Job description

The vacant position serves as the primary equipment owner for multiple SMT manufacturing platforms, including:

• Vitrox AOI Inspection Systems
• Heller Reflow Ovens
• ASM SR902L Reflow Oven
• ESD Monitoring & Control Systems

These systems support key SMT manufacturing functions including:

• Defect detection and quality assurance
• Solder reflow process stability
• Stencil cleanliness control
• ESD protection across the SMT production floor
• Technician competency development and certification

The breadth of equipment ownership requires multidisciplinary technical competency spanning equipment engineering, preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, process interaction, and reliability engineering.

Operational Support Responsibilities

The position is responsible for maintaining day-to-day equipment stability through:

• Equipment health monitoring
• Runtime performance analysis
• Heat Map trend monitoring
• Downtime response and escalation management
• Preventive maintenance planning
• PM execution verification
• Equipment walk-through inspections
• Early detection of developing equipment abnormalities

These activities provide the engineering governance necessary to sustain stable and uninterrupted SMT manufacturing operations.

Reliability Engineering Responsibilities

In addition to operational support, the position performs reliability engineering activities including:

• Weekly downtime analysis
• Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
• Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) implementation
• PM quality auditing
• Maintenance effectiveness verification
• Spare parts strategy reviews
• Failure trend monitoring and risk mitigation

These activities are critical to preventing recurrence of chronic equipment issues and sustaining long-term equipment reliability improvements.

The role actively supports factory continuous improvement initiatives including:

• Reliability enhancement
• PM optimization and standardization
• Cost reduction through repair and refurbishment activities
• Technical coaching and knowledge transfer

The position also supports execution of reliability and maintenance improvement projects that contribute directly to productivity, maintenance effectiveness, and operational cost-control objectives.

Business Risk Associated with Vacancy

1. Loss of Equipment Ownership Continuity

The position currently maintains ownership of multiple equipment categories across the SMT manufacturing process.

Critical knowledge associated with:

• Chronic failure modes
• Troubleshooting methodologies
• Equipment-process interactions

cannot be fully transferred in the short term.

An extended vacancy may result in reduced responsiveness and increased equipment instability during the transition period.

2. Increased Downtime Exposure

The role serves as a key engineering resource supporting:

• SPC excursion investigations
• Equipment abnormality analysis
• Production escalations

Without replacement, remaining engineering resources will need to absorb these responsibilities, potentially leading to:

• Increased response time
• Increased recurrence of equipment failures

These risks may directly impact SMT output and operational performance.

3. Reliability Improvement Setback

Current reliability activities supported by the position include:

• Downtime trend analysis
• PM quality auditing
• Failure prevention activities

An unfilled vacancy will reduce available engineering bandwidth to sustain these initiatives and may slow the progress of ongoing reliability improvement programs.

4. Reduced Preventive Maintenance Governance

The position is responsible for engineering oversight of maintenance activities through:

• Technical coaching
• Technician competency support

Reduced engineering oversight can increase the risk of PM quality deterioration and delayed detection of maintenance-related gaps.

5. Extended Recovery Period for Replacement Capability

A new hire will require:

• Recruitment lead time
• Structured onboarding
• Equipment-specific training
• Reliability engineering development
• Historical knowledge transfer