Senior Packaging Failure Analysis Engineer

nEye.ai; California (MO); On-site; USD 165,000 - 220,000; Full time

Job summary

nEye.ai is seeking a hands-on Senior Packaging Failure Analysis Engineer to lead root-cause investigations across silicon photonics, MEMS, optical packaging, and electronic assemblies. You will own investigations from non-destructive analysis through destructive physical analysis, select appropriate techniques, and translate findings into corrective actions for design, packaging, manufacturing.

Over time you may help build in-house FA capabilities, including cross-sectioning, microscopy,

Qualifications

• BS, MS, or PhD in Materials Science, Materials Engineering, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related discipline.
• 8+ years of hands-on experience in failure analysis, materials characterization, or physical analysis within semiconductors, advanced packaging, photonics, MEMS, microelectronics, or a related field.
• Demonstrated expertise in cross-sectioning and analysis of bonded interfaces.
• Strong knowledge of materials behavior, phase diagrams, intermetallics, interfaces, adhesion, fracture, and material interactions.
• Hands-on experience with several analytical techniques such as SEM/EDS, FIB, XPS, XRD, optical microscopy, X-ray/CT, SAM, FTIR, and DSC.
• Ability to select the appropriate analytical technique based on the failure mechanism being investigated and understand the strengths and limitations of each method.
• Experience investigating packaging or assembly failure mechanisms involving adhesives, solder joints, wafer/die bonding, eutectic bonding, optical attach, or hermetic packages.
• Strong root-cause problem-solving skills with an inquisitive, hypothesis-driven, and structured approach to failure analysis.
• Ability to translate complex analytical findings into clear conclusions and actionable engineering recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Lead structured failure analysis and root-cause investigations across silicon photonics, MEMS, optical packaging, bonded assemblies, and PCBAs.
• Perform and interpret cross-sections of bonded structures and material interfaces, identifying defects, intermetallic formation, diffusion, cracking, voiding, contamination, delamination, and other failure mechanisms.
• Develop FA workflows using the appropriate progression of non-destructive and destructive analytical techniques, including optical microscopy, X-ray/CT, SAM, IR imaging, cross-sectioning, FIB, SEM/EDS, XPS, XRD, and related methods.
• Apply a strong understanding of materials science, phase diagrams, interfacial reactions, and failure mechanisms to interpret analytical results—for example, identifying phase formation within Au-Si or other bonded interfaces.
• Understand the capabilities, limitations, detection depths, spatial resolution, and appropriate application of different analytical and metrology techniques and select the best method for each investigation.
• Analyze fusion and eutectic bonded interfaces, including Si-Si, Si-glass, Au-Sn, and Au-Si systems, for unbonded regions, particle-induced voids, cracking, weak-bond propagation, and other interfacial defects.
• Investigate photonics fibre/FAU attach and adhesive failures, including coupling-loss shifts, alignment drift, delamination, voiding, cure shrinkage, creep, photodarkening, and outgassing.
• Support epoxy/material selection and characterization, including CTE, modulus, Tg, refractive index, ionic content, and cure kinetics, using techniques such as DSC and FTIR.
• Investigate solder and PCBA failures, including voiding, non-wet opens, head-in-pillow, pad cratering, IMC growth, fatigue cracking, warpage, and reflow-related defects.
• Support hermeticity and MEMS failure investigations, including leak testing, moisture ingress, contamination, stiction, cavity pressure shifts, and outgassing-driven drift.
• Perform or coordinate mechanical characterization including die shear, fibre pull, bond-strength/toughness testing, chisel testing, and four-point bending.
• Maintain disciplined FA documentation and a failure database, drive 8D/root-cause and corrective-action closure, and communicate findings clearly to engineering and manufacturing teams.
• Feed FA learnings into DFM/DFR, design improvements, process development, and OSAT/module partner corrective actions.
• Support product qualification and reliability investigations against relevant JEDEC, Telcordia GR-468, and MIL-STD-883 requirements.
• Help define and potentially establish in-house FA laboratory capabilities, including equipment selection, sample-preparation workflows, polishing/cross-sectioning, SEM/EDS, and laboratory best practices.

Skills

8+ years FA experience

Failure analysis

Materials characterization

Cross-sectioning

SEM/EDS

FIB

XPS

XRD

Education

Materials Science/Engineering degree

Tools

SEM/EDS

FIB

XPS

XRD

Optical microscopy

X-ray/CT

SAM

FTIR

DSC

Job description

About Us

nEye.ai, a well-funded optical switch startup, is poised to revolutionize the future of data centers. nEye’s MEMS-based silicon photonics optical circuit switches (OCS) eliminate critical bottlenecks in AI processing by enabling direct optical connections among thousands of GPUs and memory units. The company’s SuperSwitch is an ultra-low power consumption, high radix, compact chip-scale design, offering hyperscale data centers enhanced performance, efficiency, and scalability.

Position Summary

We are seeking a hands-on Senior Packaging Failure Analysis Engineer to lead root-cause investigation of complex failures across our silicon photonics, MEMS, optical packaging, and electronic assemblies.

This role will have a particular focus on cross-sectioning bonded components and analyzing material interfaces, including adhesive/epoxy attach, fusion and eutectic bonding, solder interconnects, and hermetic packages. The ideal candidate combines a strong foundation in materials science and interfacial phenomena with deep practical experience in failure analysis, microscopy, analytical characterization, and sample preparation.

You will own investigations from initial non-destructive analysis through destructive physical analysis, determine the appropriate characterization technique for each problem, translate findings into actionable root cause and corrective actions, and feed learnings back into product design, packaging, manufacturing, and supplier processes.

Over time, this individual may also play a key role in building and expanding in-house failure analysis capabilities, including cross-sectioning/polishing, microscopy, SEM/EDS, and related analytical infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead structured failure analysis and root-cause investigations across silicon photonics, MEMS, optical packaging, bonded assemblies, and PCBAs.

• Perform and interpret cross-sections of bonded structures and material interfaces, identifying defects, intermetallic formation, diffusion, cracking, voiding, contamination, delamination, and other failure mechanisms.

• Develop FA workflows using the appropriate progression of non-destructive and destructive analytical techniques, including optical microscopy, X-ray/CT, SAM, IR imaging, cross-sectioning, FIB, SEM/EDS, XPS, XRD, and related methods.

• Apply a strong understanding of materials science, phase diagrams, interfacial reactions, and failure mechanisms to interpret analytical results—for example, identifying phase formation within Au-Si or other bonded interfaces.

• Understand the capabilities, limitations, detection depths, spatial resolution, and appropriate application of different analytical and metrology techniques and select the best method for each investigation.

• Analyze fusion and eutectic bonded interfaces, including Si-Si, Si-glass, Au-Sn, and Au-Si systems, for unbonded regions, particle-induced voids, cracking, weak-bond propagation, and other interfacial defects.

• Investigate photonics fibre/FAU attach and adhesive failures, including coupling-loss shifts, alignment drift, delamination, voiding, cure shrinkage, creep, photodarkening, and outgassing.

• Support epoxy/material selection and characterization, including CTE, modulus, Tg, refractive index, ionic content, and cure kinetics, using techniques such as DSC and FTIR.

• Investigate solder and PCBA failures, including voiding, non-wet opens, head-in-pillow, pad cratering, IMC growth, fatigue cracking, warpage, and reflow-related defects.

• Support hermeticity and MEMS failure investigations, including leak testing, moisture ingress, contamination, stiction, cavity pressure shifts, and outgassing-driven drift.

• Perform or coordinate mechanical characterization including die shear, fibre pull, bond-strength/toughness testing, chisel testing, and four-point bending.

• Maintain disciplined FA documentation and a failure database, drive 8D/root-cause and corrective-action closure, and communicate findings clearly to engineering and manufacturing teams.

• Feed FA learnings into DFM/DFR, design improvements, process development, and OSAT/module partner corrective actions.

• Support product qualification and reliability investigations against relevant JEDEC, Telcordia GR-468, and MIL-STD-883 requirements.

• Help define and potentially establish in-house FA laboratory capabilities, including equipment selection, sample-preparation workflows, polishing/cross-sectioning, SEM/EDS, and laboratory best practices.

Required Skills

• BS, MS, or PhD in Materials Science, Materials Engineering, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related discipline.

• 8+ years of hands-on experience in failure analysis, materials characterization, or physical analysis within semiconductors, advanced packaging, photonics, MEMS, microelectronics, or a related field.

• Demonstrated expertise in cross-sectioning and analysis of bonded interfaces.

• Strong knowledge of materials behavior, phase diagrams, intermetallics, interfaces, adhesion, fracture, and material interactions.

• Hands-on experience with several analytical techniques such as SEM/EDS, FIB, XPS, XRD, optical microscopy, X-ray/CT, SAM, FTIR, and DSC.

• Ability to select the appropriate analytical technique based on the failure mechanism being investigated and understand the strengths and limitations of each method.

• Experience investigating packaging or assembly failure mechanisms involving adhesives, solder joints, wafer/die bonding, eutectic bonding, optical attach, or hermetic packages.

• Strong root-cause problem-solving skills with an inquisitive, hypothesis-driven, and structured approach to failure analysis.

• Ability to translate complex analytical findings into clear conclusions and actionable engineering recommendations.

Preferred Skills

• Experience establishing, expanding, or operating an internal failure-analysis laboratory is highly desirable.

• Experience with silicon photonics, MEMS, optical packaging, or advanced semiconductor packaging is a plus.

$165,000 - $220,000 a year

Starting salary and title will depend on, and be commensurate with, relevant experience, skills, training, education, market demands, and the ultimate job duties and requirements.

nEye is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.