Senior Development Engineer - Wafer-Level Nano-Fab R&D

Seagate Technology; Normandale (AL); On-site; USD 94,000 - 118,000; Full time

Job summary

Seagate Technology seeks a Senior Development Engineer - Early Career to join the Advanced Transducer Development group in Bloomington/Normandale. You will develop wafer-level fabrication processes for nanoscale devices and drive prototype builds from concept to demonstration.

The role requires hands-on fabrication expertise, a PhD in a related field, strong statistical skills (DOE, ANOVA), and collaboration across lithography, deposition, etch, metrology, and test.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with semiconductor, MEMS, magnetic-device, photonic-device, or other wafer-level fabrication in an R&D, pilot-line, cleanroom, or manufacturing environment.
• Experience developing or integrating process modules composed of multiple wafer-fabrication steps.
• Broad working knowledge of several semiconductor unit processes (photolithography, thin-film deposition, plasma etch, wet etch, CMP, thermal processing, etc.).
• Experience creating and executing wafer process flows, build plans, experiments, or process qualifications.
• Experience using characterization data to assess process performance, device geometry, materials, interfaces, defects, or device functionality.
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot process interactions, perform root-cause analysis, and implement corrective actions.
• Experience applying statistical methods such as DOE, regression, ANOVA, SPC, or process-capability analysis.

Responsibilities

• Develop and integrate wafer-level fabrication processes for advanced nanoscale devices from concept through prototype demonstration.
• Translate device concepts into practical wafer process flows, experimental plans, test structures, metrology strategies, and success criteria.
• Plan and execute prototype wafer builds, including wafer starts, experiment sequencing, WIP decisions, wafer tracking, and coordinating critical steps.
• Collaborate with lithography, deposition, etch, CMP, cleans, and metrology teams to establish process readiness and integrate modules into complete device flows.
• Use inline, materials, and device-level characterization to assess geometry, material properties, defects, performance, and reliability.
• Analyze process and metrology data to identify variation, defect mechanisms, yield loss, and gaps between design intent and fabricated structures.
• Design and execute structured experiments using statistical methods to optimize processes and resolve complex integration issues.
• Document results, participate in technology transfer, and contribute to Seagate intellectual property.

Skills

Semiconductor fabrication

Wafer processing

DOE / statistics

Data analysis

Education

PhD in Materials Science or related field

Tools

JMP

Python

R

MATLAB

Job description

Seagate Technology seeks a Senior Development Engineer - Early Career to join the Advanced Transducer Development group in Bloomington/Normandale. You will develop wafer-level fabrication processes for nanoscale devices and drive prototype builds from concept to demonstration.

The role requires hands-on fabrication expertise, a PhD in a related field, strong statistical skills (DOE, ANOVA), and collaboration across lithography, deposition, etch, metrology, and test.