Manager, Equipment Engineering - Wet Etch/CMP

Tower Semiconductor; Newport Beach (CA); On-site; USD 158,000 - 173,000; Full time

Job summary

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. in Newport Beach, CA, is seeking a Manager of Equipment Engineering for Wet Etch/CMP.

You will lead a world-class team of Equipment Engineers and Technicians, oversee 24x7 coverage, drive CIP and vendor activities, and partner with Process, R&D, Facilities and Procurement to optimize reliability and yield. This role emphasizes strategic planning, performance reviews, budget stewardship, and continuous improvement in Wet/CMP tools.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of hands-on semiconductor fab experience in Wet Etch with 3–5 years of management experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Electronics/Opto‑electronics or related field required.
• Strong leadership, communication, project management, and teamwork skills.
• Solid knowledge of wafer processing and Wet/CMP equipment troubleshooting.
• Understanding of optical systems and electronic circuitry is beneficial.
• Lean manufacturing and cycle time theories knowledge is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Manage daily resources, including off hours, to optimize maintenance of bottleneck tools and ensure parts availability.
• Lead projects to improve equipment performance, reliability, cycle time, and yield.
• Address repeat down events with permanent corrective actions and preventive maintenance.
• Track metrics and ensure deadlines for engineering improvement projects.
• Coach and mentor equipment engineering staff; drive CIP roadmap and budget adherence.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Teamwork

Communication

Lean manufacturing

Education

Bachelor of Science in Electrical/Electronics/Opto‑electronics/Electro‑mechanical Engineering

Tools

Wet/CMP equipment

Job description

Manager, Equipment Engineering – Wet Etch/CMP

Location: Newport Beach, CA, USA, 92660

Company: Tower Semiconductor Ltd.

Job Description

You will be working in a world class Equipment Engineering organization with a talented group of Equipment Engineers and Equipment Technicians. An organization that focuses on growth, talent development, and continuous improvement. Responsible for Wet Etch Equipment Engineering area for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance activities, new equipment installations/start up, and continuous equipment performance improvement. Directly manage a team of Equipment Engineers and Equipment Technicians with 4 shift coverage (24x7) supporting production with focus on Wet tools such as DNS SU2000, DNS FC-821L, SEZ223, FSI Mercury, Naura-Akrion Gama, and Rear Mount benches. Need to drive and manage vendor activities and continuous improvement programs (CIP). Interface with Production, Process, R&D, Facilities, and Procurement groups.

Responsibilities

• You can manage resources daily, including off hours/weekends, when necessary, to optimize equipment maintenance activities with a focus on top bottleneck tools, leading problem solving for difficult equipment failures, delivering on time PMs, providing adequate manpower coverage, and ensuring parts availability to support Production.
• You can identify and initiate projects to improve equipment performance (based on Pareto analysis eliminating chronic/repeat failures), reliability, product cycle time, and yield.
• You can focus on repeat down events and implement systems to ensure these types of events are addressed under a permanent corrective action maintenance activity.
• You can meet set metrics goals based on business need and work on solving obstacles, escalating issues, and needed resources.
• You can assign critical equipment metrics to Engineers that align with the Tower Operations business requirement (Availability, MTBF, MTTR, CoV, wafer scrap, PM compliance).
• You can track and monitor engineering improvement projects, and execution scheduling to ensure set deadlines are met.
• You can be responsible for technical and non-technical coaching and mentoring for equipment engineering staff.
• You can solve conflicts and promote a teamwork environment and use 1:1 methodology.
• You can manage administration activities, goal setting and Annual Performance Reviews, and track performance.
• You can address low performing employees and provide roadmap for improvement and disciplinary actions if needed.
• You can drive quality implementation system and improvement for Wet/CMP equipment engineering in assigned area.
• You can manage costs for Wet/CMP department and be the gatekeeper for budget spending to stay below planned AOP.
• You can control spare parts inventory and reduce cost through improvement or second sourcing without compromising quality.
• You can manage and optimize service contracts to achieve low cost and adequate coverage for equipment services.
• In conjunction with Human Resources, ensure skill requirements are planned for and met in the most cost-effective way while maintaining a highly productive work environment.
• You can participate in Wet and CMP core teams and work in cross‑functional groups: Process, Facility, Production and R&D.
• You can maintain open communication and periodically communicate to the team about Wet/CMP area key metrics, equipment performance, and projects updates.
• You can work in an environment where the position is very dynamic and requires tactical, strategic, extensive planning, teamwork, and customer service skills.
• You can use your autonomy in engineering level decision‑making and CIP roadmap strategy.
• You can budget control the Equipment Spares month to month.
• You can directly manage Equipment Engineers, Equipment Technicians, and vendor FSE's onsite through service contracts.

Qualifications

• 10 years or more of direct hands‑on Semiconductor Fab experience in the Wet Etch area with 3 to 5 years of management experience.
• Bachelor of Science degree with an emphasis on Electrical/Electronics, Opto‑electronics, or Electro‑mechanical Engineering, or related field experience is required.
• Must possess strong leadership/management skills, including listening, communication, project management, motivational, and teamwork skills.
• Must have knowledge of wafer processing with a solid understanding of Wet/CMP Equipment and troubleshooting capabilities.
• Must demonstrate a strong knowledge of optical systems, electrical, and electronic circuitry.
• Knowledge of lean manufacturing and Cycle Time theories is strongly preferred.
• Work Conditions: Very dynamic work environment with changing priorities, escalation, and high urgency to respond without any delay. Fab activities that require hands‑on support, which includes exposure to a variety of hazards including, Laser, high voltage, RF & microwave frequency power supplies, hazardous gases, and chemicals. Also, occasionally work in a FAB clean‑room environment with repetitive motion and lifting load up to 50 pounds. For load higher than 50 pounds help from other technicians and follow safety procedures will be required.

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Compensation

Compensation: $158,000 - $173,000