Senior Manufacturing Engineer – Thin Film Engineering (PVD, PECVD, ALD & RIE)
$162,000–$198,000 year
On-siteSan Jose, California, United States
Job Summary
Own daily manufacturing performance for PVD/Sputtering, PECVD, ALD, and RIE process areas by driving output, yield, uptime, and cycle time while supporting production directly through real-time troubleshooting. Convert R&D processes into repeatable, production-ready workflows and define critical process parameters for deposition and etch operations. Partner with Operations, Quality, and Equipment Engineering to ensure line execution, tool reliability, and process acceptance from pilot through early production. Lead structured root cause analysis on yield loss, defects, and downtime using characterization data to implement sustainable fixes. Build SOPs, control plans, and traceability systems to ensure manufacturing is data-driven and auditable.
Required Qualifications
- 7–12+ years in manufacturing engineering with thin-film deposition and etch (PVD/sputtering, PECVD, ALD, and/or RIE) in battery, semiconductor, or thin-film industries
- Proven experience owning manufacturing processes on the floor
- Strong track record of driving yield and throughput improvements
- Experience supporting or leading pilot → production scale-up
- Hands-on mindset — comfortable working directly with equipment, technicians, and operators
- Working knowledge of thin-film characterization techniques (e.g., ellipsometry, profilometry, XRD, SEM) and their use in validating and controlling deposition processes
Desired Qualifications
- Understanding of film stress engineering, plasma physics, RF coupling, and DC self-bias
- Understanding of plasma etch chemistry, selectivity, anisotropy, and endpoint detection (RIE/ICP-RIE)
- Familiarity with ALD precursor chemistry, self-limiting surface reactions, and pulse/purge sequencing
- Vacuum systems and chamber conditioning experience
- Experience with image-based film/defect characterization (SEM, optical microscopy) and correlating characterization data back to process control limits
- Experience with MES, traceability systems, or data-driven manufacturing
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