Equipment Department Manager - Semiconductors

MRL Consulting Group | Global Niche Technology Recruitment; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

MRL Consulting Group | Global Niche Technology Recruitment is helping a leading global technology company fill the Equipment Department Manager role in San Jose, California. You will lead a 52-person team of equipment engineers, technicians, and supervisors to keep fabs running and improve uptime.

You will shape maintenance strategy, drive proactive reliability, scale the team for factory growth, and partner with facilities, safety, and procurement leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field (advanced degree preferred) or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years in semiconductor or advanced manufacturing equipment engineering or maintenance, including 5+ years leading managers or supervisors in a shift-based, 24x7 environment.
• Demonstrated success shifting an equipment organization from corrective to preventive maintenance and improving uptime.
• Experience scaling an engineering and technician organization through rapid factory growth.

Responsibilities

• Lead a 52-person equipment department, including engineers, technicians, and supervisors.
• Drive safety, quality, and reliability improvements with a zero-incident mindset.
• Scale maintenance from corrective to preventive/predictive maintenance with clear targets and metrics.
• Define vision and translate it into goals, metrics, and behaviors across shifts and teams.
• Own budgeting for OPEX and CAPEX and manage service contracts and consumables.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Change management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field

Tools

Semiconductor fab equipment knowledge

Job description

Job Description

A leading global technology company is seeking an exceptional Equipment Department Manager to lead a 52-person organization of equipment engineers, an equipment engineering manager, equipment technicians, and technician supervisors. This leader will scale the team to match rapid factory growth and transform the department's mindset from "fix what is broken" to "keep the fabs up and running." We are looking for a self-directed, strategic leader who effectively leverages the team to identify issues, build solutions, and drive results with minimal direction.

Key Responsibilities

Safety & Quality

• Lead with a zero-incident mindset; enforce safety standards and behaviours across all equipment areas and shifts.
• Maintain process and procedural discipline, and reduce maintenance errors through training, coaching, and standardized work.

Culture Transformation & Vision

• Shift the culture of the organization from reactive repair to proactive reliability, driving significant improvements in equipment uptime and factory output.
• Define and communicate a clear vision for equipment performance, and translate it into goals, metrics, and behaviors across all teams and shifts.
• Lead with integrity, accountability, and trust; build a high-performing team culture that owns outcomes.

Maintenance Strategy & Reliability

• Drive the transition from mostly corrective maintenance to mostly preventive and predictive maintenance, with clear targets and progress tracking.
• Build and sustain preventive maintenance programs, spare parts strategies, and reliability practices that reduce unplanned downtime.
• Use real-time KPIs and data analytics to identify chronic equipment issues, remove bottlenecks, and prioritize improvement efforts.
• Champion Lean practices and structured problem solving focused on uptime, quality, and cost.

Scaling, Training & 24x7 Coverage

• Scale the department's headcount, skills, and structure to match the growth of the factories, with clear hiring and capacity plans.
• Build a rigorous training and certification program that develops technicians and engineers quickly and consistently.
• Strengthen 24x7 coverage across all shifts, ensuring consistent technical depth, handoffs, and escalation paths.
• Set clear expectations; coach supervisors, technicians, and engineers to high standards of accountability, teamwork, and growth mindset.

Stakeholder Partnership Across the Company

• Partner with senior stakeholders overseeing construction, facilities, safety systems, and procurement to plan and deliver equipment installations, capacity expansions, and infrastructure support.
• Represent equipment readiness and constraints to factory operations and senior leadership and make data-driven recommendations on priorities and trade-offs.
• Engage vendors and suppliers to secure service support, spare parts, and timely equipment delivery.

Budget & Financial Management

• Own the department budget, including operating expenses (OPEX) and capital expenses (CAPEX); forecast, track, and report spending against plan.
• Develop and justify capital plans for new tools, upgrades, and capacity expansions.
• Manage service contracts and vendor agreements to balance cost, response time, and equipment uptime.
• Control spending on consumables and spare parts through usage tracking, inventory management, and cost-reduction initiatives.
• Align budget priorities with factory growth plans and make clear trade-off recommendations to senior leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related field (advanced degree preferred), or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years in semiconductor or advanced manufacturing equipment engineering or maintenance, including 5+ years leading managers or supervisors in a shift-based, 24x7 environment.
• Demonstrated success shifting an equipment organization from corrective to preventive maintenance and improving uptime.
• Experience scaling an engineering and technician organization through rapid factory growth.
• Track record of building rigorous training programs and strengthening 24x7 support coverage.
• Proven experience managing department budgets, including OPEX, CAPEX, service contracts, and consumables.
• Working knowledge of semiconductor fab equipment, maintenance management systems, and reliability practices; compound semiconductor experience (GaAs/InP) is a plus.
• Strong leadership presence: executive communication, influence across construction, facilities, safety, and procurement, and the ability to operate independently with sound judgment.