Photonic Failure Analysis Engineer

Hyperlight; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage and well-being

401(k) retirement plans with matching

Parental Leave

Life and disability insurance

Commuter benefits

Mentorship opportunities

Job summary

HyperLight in Cambridge, MA is seeking a Failure Analysis engineer to own cases end-to-end, plan analyses, and report findings. You will perform SEM, EDS, XPS, AFM, and other characterizations on photonic wafers, maintain chain-of-custody, and coordinate outsourced TEM work with partners at HAR/MIT facilities.

We look for independent cleanroom experience, SEM operation, and rigorous experimental design. Competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits are offered; in-person role at HyperLight

Qualifications

• BS in materials science and engineering, chemistry, applied physics, physics, electrical engineering, or chemical engineering, plus 3+ years hands-on cleanroom and/or characterization experience.
• MS in one of the above plus 1-2 years; or
• PhD in one of the above (graduate research counts toward experience)
• Independent cleanroom experience. You have been qualified on and worked unsupervised with at least three of: photolithography and resist processing, plasma/RIE etch, wet etch, thin-film deposition (PVD/CVD/ALD), e-beam lithography.
• Independent SEM operation, including imaging of insulating and PIC samples, plus EDS acquisition and interpretation.
• Experimental rigor. Demonstrated ability to design an analysis with appropriate controls, identify confounding variables, and keep observation separate from inference.
• Technical writing. You can produce a report that a non-specialist stakeholder can act on.
• Comfortable working with acids, bases, and solvents, and willing to complete site-specific safety training, including hydrofluoric acid handling.

Responsibilities

• Own FA cases end to end: define the question, plan the analysis, execute it, and write it up.
• Sequence analyses correctly on irreplaceable samples; non-destructive before destructive and know when a cross-section is worth spending the only sample you have.
• Run optical microscopy, SEM, and EDS day to day; FIB cross-sectioning and lift-out; AFM, profilometry, and ellipsometry as needed.
• Perform surface and chemical characterization — XPS, Raman, FTIR — and interpret the data, not just acquire it.
• Specify and manage outsourced analysis (e.g.TEM) with external labs.
• Support post-reliability FA on stressed parts (HAST, damp heat, thermal cycling) and on customer returns, working with the Test and Reliability engineers.
• Work in the cleanroom on FA sample preparation and on light fabrication for demo and process-feasibility devices: resist processing, photolithography, e-beam lithography, metallization, etching (wet, dry: ion milling and RIE).
• Write clear, evidence-anchored reports that hold up under cross-functional scrutiny, and present findings to stakeholders including Platform and Foundry.
• Maintain sample chain of custody, case records, and the FA findings database.

Skills

Independent cleanroom

Independent SEM

Experimental rigor

Technical writing

Photolithography

Education

BS in materials science/engineering or related

MS in related field

PhD in related field

Tools

SEM

FIB cross-sectioning

E-beam lithography

XPS

Raman

Job description

HyperLight in Cambridge, MA is seeking a Failure Analysis engineer to own cases end-to-end, plan analyses, and report findings. You will perform SEM, EDS, XPS, AFM, and other characterizations on photonic wafers, maintain chain-of-custody, and coordinate outsourced TEM work with partners at HAR/MIT facilities.

We look for independent cleanroom experience, SEM operation, and rigorous experimental design. Competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits are offered; in-person role at HyperLight