Manager, Equipment Engineering - Wet Etch/CMP

Tower Semiconductor Ltd.; Newport Beach, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. in Newport Beach, CA seeks a senior Equipment Engineering leader to oversee Wet Etch tools and a 24x7 team, driving maintenance, CIP, and performance improvements.

The role requires hands-on Fab experience, strong leadership, and the ability to coordinate with Process, Production, and R&D to meet reliability and yield goals.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of Wet Etch fab experience with 3–5 years of management.
• B.S. in Electrical/Electronics/Opto-electro/mechanical or related field.
• Strong leadership, communication, project management, and teamwork skills.
• Solid understanding of Wet/CMP equipment and troubleshooting.

Responsibilities

• Lead a 24x7 Wet Etch equipment team and coordinate preventive maintenance.
• Drive CIP and continuous equipment performance improvements.
• Manage vendor activities and service contracts to ensure coverage and cost control.
• Interface with Production, Process, R&D, Facilities, and Procurement.
• Set metrics and track equipment performance (MTBF, MTTR, availability).

Skills

Resource management

Problem solving

Leadership

Teamwork

Scheduling

Coaching

Budgeting

Vendor management

Communication

Decision making

Education

B.S. in EE/Opto/Electro-mechanical

Job description

Location: Newport Beach, CA, USA, 92660

Company: Tower Semiconductor Ltd.

About Tower Semiconductor

Looking for a career path in the high-tech industry? Become part of a team focused on delivering the most exciting semiconductor technology in the world! If you enjoy working with others in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and are looking for an opportunity to grow your career in this exciting industry, then Tower Semiconductor is the place to be!

Tower Semiconductor, the leading foundry of high-value analog semiconductor solutions, provides technology, development, and process platforms for analog integrated circuits to more than 300 customers worldwide across growing markets such as communications, mobile, infrastructure, consumer, industrial, automotive, medical, and aerospace and defense, among others.

Join Tower and become part of a dynamic organization with exceptionally talented and dedicated team members who work collaboratively to provide best-in-class technological solutions to our clients.

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.

This Job Is For You If

• 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 promoting 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.

Job Requirements

• 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