Product Failure Analysis Technician

Altera Corporation; San Jose, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 83,000 - 114,000; Full time

Job summary

Altera is seeking a Physical Failure Analysis Technician in San Jose, CA to perform sample preparation and initial physical analysis on product yield, reliability and customer returns. You will collaborate with engineers to identify failures in processes and products.

Responsibilities include delayering, mechanical polishing, electron microscopy imaging of defects, preparing samples to isolate faults, and tracking failure-analysis cases while coordinating with manufacturing for root-cause fixes.

Qualifications

• Experience performing physical failure analysis on semiconductor products.
• Ability to prepare samples and isolate faults.
• Collaborates with manufacturing teams for root-cause fixes.

Responsibilities

• Identify electrical, thermal, mechanical failures in packages or components.
• Perform delayering, mechanical polishing, and electron microscopy imaging of defects.
• Prepare samples to isolate faults and document failure-analysis cases.
• Track and update failure-analysis cases daily; maintain reports and follow-up.
• Contribute to automation and improvement of failure-analysis processes and techniques.

Skills

Failure analysis

Root cause analysis

Collaboration

Problem solving

Tools

Electron microscopy

Delayering

Polishing

Job description

About Altera At Altera™, our independence as the world’s largest pure‑play FPGA solutions provider gives us the focus, speed, and agility to innovate without compromise. With more than four decades of industry‑leading FPGA expertise, our singular mission is to deliver the programmable technologies that help customers differentiate, innovate, and scale across rapidly evolving markets like AI, cloud, networking, and edge. As an independent company, we move faster, invest deeper, and partner more closely—empowering our teams to drive breakthrough innovation and shape the future of the FPGA industry.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced semiconductor Physical Failure Analysis Technician responsible for sample preparation and initial physical analysis on product yield, reliability and customer returns. In this role you will collaborate with engineers driving failure identification in processes and products.

Responsibilities

You will be responsible to identify electrical, thermal, mechanical package, or component failures. Conducts physical failure analysis such as delayering, mechanical polishing, electron microscopy imaging of defect for product yield, quality and reliability improvement. Prepares samples to isolate faults. Manages the tracking and updating of failure analysis cases daily; maintains necessary reports, documentation and follow up. Collaborates with manufacturing teams for root cause fixes. Analyzes failure analysis results to establish root cause, proposes actions to remedy and prevents malfunction reoccurrence, ensuring proper corrective action for each failure mode. Participates in automation and improvement of the failure analysis process, tools and methodology, develops new failure analysis techniques and proliferates learning across sites.

Salary Range

The pay range below is for Bay Area California only. Actual salary may vary based on a number of factors including job location, job-related knowledge, skills, experiences, trainings, etc. We also offer incentive opportunities that reward employees based on individual and company performance. $82,900 - $113,950 USD (Hourly equivalent) We use artificial intelligence to screen, assess, or select applicants for the position. Applicants must be eligible for any required U.S. export authorizations.

Job Details

Job Type: Regular Shift: Shift 1 (United States of America) Primary Location: San Jose, California, United States Additional Locations:

Equal Employment Opportunity

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, religious creed, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, military and veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by local law, regulation or ordinance.

About Altera

Altera: Accelerating Innovators Altera provides leadership programmable solutions that are easy-to-use and deploy in applications from cloud to edge, offering limitless AI possibilities. Our end-to-end broad portfolio of products including FPGAs, CPLDs, Intellectual Property, development tools, System on Modules, SmartNICs and IPUs provide the flexibility to accelerate innovation. Altera is helping to shape the future through pioneering innovation that unlocks extraordinary possibilities for everyone on the planet.