Senior System Architect

IR Search BV; Eindhoven; On-site; EUR 110,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity participation

Relocation support

High Tech Campus Eindhoven workspace

Job summary

IR Search BV on High Tech Campus Eindhoven is scaling from a working proof-of-concept to a fab-ready deposition platform. You will own the system architecture spanning vacuum, thermal, motion, electrical interfaces, and software.

Join a small expert team to drive mature subsystems, make make/buy decisions, and build a supplier network; relocation support is available, equity participation offered, and the role centers on delivering a robust, scalable platform.

Qualifications

• MSc or PhD in mechanical engineering, precision engineering, mechatronics, or a related field.
• 12+ years designing high-precision systems that shipped.
• Experience with HV or UHV vacuum systems.
• Proven full-system ownership from prototype to industrialisation.
• Ability to make make/buy decisions balancing cost, lead time, IP and risk.

Responsibilities

• Own the full system architecture: requirements, interface definitions, and budgets across vacuum, thermal, motion, electrical, and software.
• Drive subsystems from prototype to volume-ready, reliable, and serviceable designs.
• Make make/buy decisions: in-house development vs outsourcing vs off-the-shelf considering cost, lead time, IP and supply risk.
• Set design rules and run design reviews across the platform.
• Build the supplier and partner base for critical subsystems.
• Own system-level risk: identify failure modes and mitigate early.

Skills

System architecture

High-precision design

Mechatronics

Self-starting leadership

Education

MSc or PhD in mechanical engineering, precision engineering, mechatronics, or related field

Tools

HV/UHV systems

Semiconductor equipment experience

Thin-film deposition tools

Contract manufacturing transfer

Job description

Our client is a deep-tech startup building equipment for semiconductor manufacturing, operating at the intersection of plasma physics, vacuum engineering, and advanced materials.

The company is scaling from a working proof-of-concept to a fab-ready system out of the R&D lab on the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven.

The role

• You will own the architecture of our deposition platform. The full system, mechanically led: vacuum, thermal, motion, and the interfaces to electrical, controls, and software. You define how the machine is built.
• Ownership runs deeper than the first prototype. You make sure every subsystem matures into a volume-ready, reliable and serviceable design. For every subsystem you make the call: develop inhouse, outsource, or buy off the shelf. Cost, lead time, IP, and risk all sit in that decision, and the decision sits with you.
• You work peer-to-peer with Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and the source, plasma, and materials engineers. You answer for the system as a whole.

What you will do

• Own the full system architecture: requirements, interface definitions, and the budgets that tie vacuum, thermal, motion, electrical, and software together
• Drive every subsystem to maturity: from prototype to a volume-ready, reliable and serviceable design
• Make the make/buy calls: in-house development versus outsourcing versus off-the-shelf, weighing cost, lead time, IP, and supply risk
• Set design rules and run design reviews across the platform
• Build the supplier and partner base for critical subsystems
• Own system-level risk: identify failure modes and mitigate them early

What we are looking for

• MSc or PhD in mechanical engineering, precision engineering, mechatronics, or a related field
• 12+ years designing high-precision systems that shipped
• Deep vacuum experience: you have architected HV or UHV systems
• Semiconductor equipment experience: you have designed or architected tools that run in fabs or at OEMs
• Proven full-system ownership: you have taken a machine from prototype through to industrialisation
• High agency and self-starting. You do not wait for a mandate. You take the system and run.

Nice to have

• Plasma experience: plasma sources, ion beam systems, or plasma process equipment. A big plus.
• Experience with thin-film deposition tools
• Experience transferring a platform to a contract manufacturer
• Design for manufacturing, assembly, and service on complex vacuum equipment

The offer

• A lead role in a company solving one of the hardest problems in semiconductor manufacturing
• Full ownership of the platform architecture, from lab to fab
• Base salary from €115,000 gross per year
• A small, expert team where your work is visible and consequential
• Meaningful equity participation
• A workspace on High Tech Campus Eindhoven, with relocation support available