Factory Automation Engineer

FormFactor, Inc.; Farmers Branch (TX); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

FormFactor, Inc. is seeking a hands-on Factory Automation Engineer to develop, deploy, integrate, and sustain automation solutions in a high-availability semiconductor manufacturing environment at the Farmers Branch, TX facility.

You will partner with Equipment Engineering, Process Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Facilities, EHS, IT Manufacturing Systems, vendors, and site leadership to translate operational needs into reliable automation and equipment integration.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree; or 3 years and a Master's degree; or a PhD without experience; or equivalent work
• Experience developing, deploying and sustaining automation solutions in a semiconductor manufacturing environment
• Ability to translate operational needs into automation requirements and specifications

Responsibilities

• Develop, deploy, and sustain automation solutions for probe card, wafer fab, VPS, assembly, and test manufacturing operations
• Translate manufacturing and equipment needs into automation requirements and plans
• Improve manufacturability, reduce manual operations, enable traceability, and support automation roadmap
• Apply automation technologies including robotics, PLC/HMI, sensors, vision, data collection, and system integration
• Design assistive automation and machine control upgrades to improve safety, throughput, and reliability
• Automate data capture for traceability, SPC, FDC, dashboards, and maintenance planning
• Integrate equipment with MES, CMMS, SPC, FDC, APC, and data analytics platforms
• Support equipment-to-host communication (SECS/GEM, GEM300, OPC UA, REST, SQL)
• Provide production support, troubleshoot communication problems, and drive corrective actions
• Participate in startup, qualification, validation, release-to-production, change control, and handoff activities
• Collaborate with IT, cybersecurity, infrastructure, vendors, and engineering to ensure reliable and secure automation
• Create and maintain technical documentation and handoff packages

Skills

Automation scripting

Bash scripting

Change control

Cross-functional collaboration

IT problem solving

Linux environments

Manufacturing systems

Windows environment

PowerShell scripting

Python

Terraform

Independent work

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Job description

Forming Our Future together

FormFactor, Inc. (NASDAQ: FORM), is a leading provider of essential test and measurement technologies along the full semiconductor product life cycle - from characterization, modeling, reliability, and design de-bug, to qualification and production test. Semiconductor companies rely upon FormFactor's products and services to accelerate profitability by optimizing device performance and advancing yield knowledge. The company serves customers through its network of facilities in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Rooted in our core values - Focus on the Customer, Ownership & Accountability, Respectfully & Effectively Communicate, and Motivate & Develop People - we foster an environment where diverse perspectives are not only welcomed but celebrated. Everyone can make an impact here. Whether it's improving products, supporting customers, or positively influencing peers and the community, the contributions of our people matter.

Shift

The regular hours for this position are day shift.

Job Description

We are seeking a hands-on Factory Automation Engineer, to develop, deploy, integrate, and sustain practical factory automation solutions that improve safety, efficiency, quality, reliability, traceability, and data accuracy in a high-availability semiconductor manufacturing environment.

This role will support the startup, qualification, scale-up, and long-term sustainment of the Farmers Branch, TX manufacturing facility and will partner closely with Equipment Engineering, Process Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Facilities, EHS, IT Manufacturing Systems, vendors, and site leadership to convert operational needs into reliable automation and equipment integration solutions.

What You'll Do

• Develop, deploy, and sustain automation solutions for probe card, wafer fab, VPS, assembly, and test manufacturing operations from concept and requirements through commissioning, release, documentation, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement.
• Translate manufacturing, equipment, process, quality, and operator needs into automation requirements, user stories, functional specifications, equipment interface requirements, and practical implementation plans.
• Improve manufacturability, reduce manual operations, strengthen error proofing, enable traceability, and support the factory automation roadmap for a startup and scale-up manufacturing environment.
• Apply automation technologies including robotics, PLC/HMI controls, sensors, actuators, motion control, machine vision, barcode/RFID, data collection, equipment integration, station controllers, and workflow automation.
• Design assistive automation, machine control upgrades, process automation, and material handling solutions that improve operator safety, ergonomics, throughput, yield, cycle time, and equipment reliability.
• Automate equipment, product, process, maintenance, and quality data capture to support traceability, SPC, FDC, yield analysis, dashboards, maintenance planning, and factory decision-making.
• Integrate manufacturing equipment with factory systems such as MES, CMMS, SPC, FDC, APC, recipe management, dispatch, scheduling, data lake, reporting, and analytics platforms.
• Support equipment-to-host communication and factory integration concepts including SECS/GEM, GEM300, EDA/Interface A, OPC UA, REST APIs, message brokers, SQL databases, and custom equipment interfaces where applicable.
• Provide production support for automation and integration issues, troubleshoot equipment-to-host communication problems, restore uptime, identify root cause, and drive corrective and preventive actions for recurring events.
• Participate in equipment startup, site acceptance, qualification, validation, release-to-production, change control, and handoff activities for new or modified automated equipment and factory systems.
• Partner with IT, cybersecurity, infrastructure, vendors, and engineering teams to ensure automation solutions are reliable, maintainable, secure, supportable, and aligned with site standards.
• Create and maintain technical documentation, standard work, troubleshooting guides, validation records, source control notes, training materials, and operational handoff packages.

Key Competencies

• Strong problem-solving, troubleshooting, and analytical skills.
• Ability to prioritize and support production-critical issues in a fast-paced startup and scale-up environment.
• Clear communication and effective collaboration with cross-functional teams.
• Self-driven ownership, disciplined documentation, and a continuous improvement mindset.

Skills

Automation Scripting, Bash (Scripting Language), Change Control Processes, Cross-Functional Collaboration, IT Problem Solving, Linux Environments, Manufacturing Systems, Microsoft Windows Environment, Power Shell Scripting, Python (Programming Language), Terraform (Software), Working Independently

Education & Experience

Minimum of 5 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree; or 3 years and a Master's degree; or a PhD without experience; or equivalent work| Required

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

FormFactor is an equal opportunity employer. FormFactor complies with all national, state, and local laws that seek to promote equal opportunities for any applicant or employee without regard to age, race, color, gender, gender identity/expression, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, disability, marital status, pregnancy or related condition, military service, or any other legally protected characteristics. These protections apply to all aspects of employment, including but not limited to, recruitment, hiring, training, promotions, and compensation.

For roles that are designated as remote-eligible, employees cannot be located in:AL, AK, AR, DE, GA, HI, IL, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MS, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NM, ND, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, WV, WI, WY. This list is continuously evolving and being updated, please check back with us if the state you live in is on the exclusion list. A role is remote-eligible only when it is listed as "Remote" in the job location.