Wafer Planning Director

Omnichat; Plano (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Omnichat is seeking a Wafer Planning Director to lead global wafer planning across internal fabs and external foundries, aligning demand with capacity and cost optimization. This executive role partners with Fab Operations, Demand Planning, and Finance to balance growth and supply continuity in a constrained manufacturing environment.

The position focuses on translating forecasts into executable wafer loading plans, managing inventory strategy, and addressing supply disruptions with proactive

Responsibilities

• Own global wafer loading plans across internal fabs and external foundries, balancing demand requirements, technology mix, and capacity constraints.
• Lead wafer capacity entitlement management with internal fabs and external foundry partners, including upside/downside scenarios and escalation.
• Drive internal vs. external sourcing decisions to maximize internal utilization and reduce external spend while protecting supply continuity.
• Translate demand forecasts and long range plans into actionable wafer supply strategies across product lines and process technologies.
• Define and manage wafer inventory strategy (baseline, buffer, and risk builds) to balance lead time, utilization, and working capital.
• Lead response strategies to supply disruptions, capacity shortages, and major mix shifts.
• Partner with Fab Operations and Engineering on ramp, qualification, porting, and process node transition plans.
• Align wafer plans with Assembly & Test capacity and constraints to ensure end to end feasibility.
• Work with Demand Planning and Sales Operations to reconcile forecast changes and priority tradeoffs.
• Provide strategic direction and oversight for external wafer sourcing, including allocation negotiations, long term agreements, and performance management.
• Ensure wafer plans reflect contractual commitments, lead times, and risk profiles across foundry partners.
• Establish clear governance, metrics, and review cadences for wafer planning performance (utilization, coverage, backlog risk, and cost).
• Lead executive level reviews of wafer supply outlook, risks, and mitigation plans.
• Build scalable planning processes, tools, and analytics to improve visibility and decision quality.
• Lead and develop the global wafer planning organization, setting clear ownership, decision rights, and accountability.
• Mentor senior managers and planning leaders; build a strong succession pipeline.

Job description

Role Summary
The Wafer Planning Director leads the company's global wafer planning strategy across internal fabs and external foundry partners. This role is accountable for translating demand forecasts and business priorities into executable wafer loading plans that maximize factory utilization, ensure supply continuity, and optimize cost and working capital. The role owns wafer capacity planning, internal vs. external sourcing decisions, entitlement management, and medium to long term wafer supply strategy across 6” and 8” technologies. The Senior Director partners closely with Fab Operations, Demand Planning, Assembly & Test, Engineering, and Finance to balance growth, risk, and efficiency in a constrained manufacturing environment.

Key Responsibilities

Wafer Supply & Capacity Planning

• Own global wafer loading plans across all internal fabs and external foundries, balancing demand requirements, technology mix, and capacity constraints.
• Lead wafer capacity entitlement management with internal fabs and external foundry partners, including upside/downside scenarios and escalation.
• Drive internal vs. external sourcing decisions to maximize internal utilization and reduce external spend while protecting supply continuity.

Strategic Planning & Execution

• Translate demand forecasts and long range plans into actionable wafer supply strategies across product lines and process technologies.
• Define and manage wafer inventory strategy (baseline, buffer, and risk builds) to balance lead time, utilization, and working capital.
• Lead response strategies to supply disruptions, capacity shortages, and major mix shifts.

Cross Functional Leadership

• Partner with Fab Operations and Engineering on ramp, qualification, porting, and process node transition plans.
• Align wafer plans with Assembly & Test capacity and constraints to ensure end to end feasibility.
• Work with Demand Planning and Sales Operations to reconcile forecast changes and priority tradeoffs.

External Foundry Management

• Provide strategic direction and oversight for external wafer sourcing, including allocation negotiations, long term agreements, and performance management.
• Ensure wafer plans reflect contractual commitments, lead times, and risk profiles across foundry partners.

Governance, Analytics & Communication

• Establish clear governance, metrics, and review cadences for wafer planning performance (utilization, coverage, backlog risk, and cost).
• Lead executive level reviews of wafer supply outlook, risks, and mitigation plans.
• Build scalable planning processes, tools, and analytics to improve visibility and decision quality.

Team Leadership

• Lead and develop the global wafer planning organization, setting clear ownership, decision rights, and accountability.
• Mentor senior managers and planning leaders; build a strong succession pipeline.