Wafer Fabrication Facility Technician

SLAC; Menlo Park (CA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, CA invites applications for the Facility Technician position in the Detector Microfabrication Facility (DMF) within the Fundamental Physics Directorate. The role covers inspection, operation, preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair of water and vacuum systems to enable fabrication of superconducting microelectronics and support SLAC’s mission.

DMF is an ISO-5 cleanroom with a diverse toolset for lithography, deposition, etch, wet

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience maintaining or operating mechanical, vacuum, water, utility, laboratory, industrial, or semiconductor-facility systems.
• Detail-oriented work ethic with ability to solve issues through experience-based knowledge.
• Ability to read and follow procedures, equipment manuals, drawings, schematics, and safety documentation.

Responsibilities

• Operate, inspect, maintain, and troubleshoot water systems that support the facility and process equipment, following approved procedures and safety requirements.
• Maintain and troubleshoot vacuum systems, including pumps, valves, gauges, seals, lines, and related components; perform basic leak checks and support more advanced diagnostics as needed.
• Support the reliable operation of facility systems and utilities serving the cleanroom and tool suite, and promptly report abnormal conditions, alarms, leaks, or performance changes.
• Respond to equipment and facility issues, gather operating data, help identify likely causes, and carry out corrective actions within the technician's training and authorization.
• Help improve equipment reliability, maintainability, and uptime by identifying recurring issues and recommending practical improvements to procedures, tooling, or spare-parts planning.
• This position requires an onsite work schedule and may require response during non-standard business hours.

Skills

Mechanical systems

Vacuum systems

Water systems

Pumps and valves

Reading procedures

Team communication

Cleanroom experience

Safety awareness

Education

Associate degree or equivalent

Tools

Hand tools

Blueprints and schematics

Job description

You are invited to apply for the position of Facility Technician for the Detector Microfabrication Facility (DMF) in the Fundamental Physics Directorate (FPD) at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The role of the Facility Technicianis the inspection, operation, preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair of water systems, vacuum systems, and other facility support systems to enable the fabrication of state-of-the-art superconducting microelectronics devices and support SLAC’s scientific mission. The DMF tool suite includes a diverse set of fabrication tools; lithography, deposition, etch, wet chemistry stations and metrology tools, which the technician will also cross-train and assist with their routine operation and maintenance in accordance with established procedures.

The Detector Microfabrication Facility (DMF) is an ISO-5 cleanroom with a dedicated toolset for the R&D and at-scale production of superconducting devices and sensors with high uniformity, complexity, yield, and reproducibility. In addition to a specialized toolset on 150mm wafers, the DMF also includes necessary capabilities for post-fabrication metrology, room-temperature and cryogenic characterization down to 20mK, and validation of functionality and performance of devices produced at the DMF. The facility is envisioned to support DOE mission science by enabling collaborative research across universities, labs and industry in quantum information science and fundamental physics. The DMF is managed by the Fundamental Physics Directorate (FPD). The FPD brings together scientists and technologies that support national priorities in particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology to explore the basic particles and forces that knit the cosmos together. As a member of the DMF core team, you will report to the DMF Operations Manager.

Your specific responsibilities will include:

• Operate, inspect, maintain, and troubleshoot water systems that support the facility and process equipment, following approved procedures and safety requirements.
• Maintain and troubleshoot vacuum systems, including pumps, valves, gauges, seals, lines, and related components; perform basic leak checks and support more advanced diagnostics as needed.
• Support the reliable operation of facility systems and utilities serving the cleanroom and tool suite, and promptly report abnormal conditions, alarms, leaks, or performance changes.
• Respond to equipment and facility issues, gather operating data, help identify likely causes, and carry out corrective actions within the technician's training and authorization.
• Help improve equipment reliability, maintainability, and uptime by identifying recurring issues and recommending practical improvements to procedures, tooling, or spare-parts planning.
• This position requires an onsite work schedule and may require response during non-standard business hours.

To be successful in this position you will bring:

• Hands-on experience maintaining or operating mechanical, vacuum, water, utility, laboratory, industrial, or semiconductor-facility systems.
• An detail orientated work ethic. Not only reports, but solves issues, both on the urgent and long term time scale through collaborative and intrinsic experience based knowledge.
• Working knowledge of mechanical components, pumps, valves, piping, gauges, sensors, and common hand and diagnostic tools.
• Ability to read and follow procedures, equipment manuals, drawings, schematics, work plans, and safety documentation.
• Strong attention to detail and a dependable ownership mindset for assigned systems and tasks.
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative team and communicate clearly with technicians, engineers, scientists, facility staff, and vendors.
• Experience in a cleanroom, research laboratory, semiconductor facility, or similarly controlled technical environment is preferred.
• Technical training, an associate degree, an apprenticeship, military technical training, or equivalent practical experience is preferred.