SiC Applications Engineer - Advanced Packaging for HPC/AI

What’s Upstate; Durham (NC); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

What’s Upstate in Durham, NC is seeking an Applications Engineer for Advanced Packaging to provide pre- and post-sales technical support as Wolfspeed SiC substrates are integrated into 2.5D/3D architectures for HPC and AI data centers. You will act as the technical bridge between materials expertise and customer package design, guiding use-case identification, material selection, and design validation.

The ideal candidate has a strong background in semiconductor packaging, thermal simulation,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, or equivalent.
• Deep industry know-how— an insider's understanding of hyperscalers, foundries, and OSATs and translating their requirements into SiC specs.
• Understanding of 2.5D/3D integration, interposer structures, TSV/TSiCV fabrication, and chiplet design.
• Experience with thermal simulation tools (e.g., ANSYS Icepak, FloTHERM) for package-level thermal analysis; ability to model SiC's thermal advantages in high‑power‑density scenarios.
• Familiarity with packaging process flows: wafer thinning, via etching (RIE), metallization, micro-bump/hybrid bonding, and CTE mismatch considerations for SiC integration.
• Experience with EDA or simulation environments relevant to packaging (e.g., Cadence Sigrity, Synopsys) is a plus.
• Strong oral and written communication and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Guide customer packaging engineers, foundries, and OSATs in selecting the optimal SiC use case (heat spreader, carrier, passive/active interposer, or package substrate) and incorporating Wolfspeed SiC wafers and substrates into advanced packaging architectures (2.5D/3D heterogeneous integration, CoWoS-style platforms). Provide remote and on-site technical support.
• Proactively identify and propose new SiC use cases, and partner closely with customers, foundries, OSATs, and ecosystem players to co-design novel packaging architectures that extend SiC beyond today's applications.
• Lead the design, development, and documentation of reference demonstrations for SiC interposer, heat-spreader, and substrate applications, including thermal performance benchmarks that quantify SiC's operating-temperature, hot-spot, and thermal-cross-talk advantages over silicon, glass, and ceramic.
• Supply customers with validated SiC material characteristics — including anisotropic/directional thermal conductivity and bond-interface data — to drive accurate package-level thermal modeling.
• Develop and present technical materials at packaging industry conferences and tradeshows and ecosystem partner workshops.
• Support new product and PDK launches, including training for Wolfspeed sales teams, foundry partners, and EDA ecosystem players (e.g., Cadence, Synopsys) on SiC design rules, process windows, and integration guidelines.
• Provide product managers with consolidated customer requirements and use-case prioritization to define new SiC packaging products, interposer specifications, and PDK enhancements.

Skills

Communication skills

Presentation skills

Thermal modeling

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, or equivalent

Tools

ANSYS Icepak

FloTHERM

Cadence Sigrity

Synopsys

Job description

What’s Upstate in Durham, NC is seeking an Applications Engineer for Advanced Packaging to provide pre- and post-sales technical support as Wolfspeed SiC substrates are integrated into 2.5D/3D architectures for HPC and AI data centers. You will act as the technical bridge between materials expertise and customer package design, guiding use-case identification, material selection, and design validation.

The ideal candidate has a strong background in semiconductor packaging, thermal simulation,