Equipment Engineer (Thin Film)

HEADWAY TECHNOLOGIES INC•Milpitas, CA

4d•$120,819 - $177,675•Onsite

About The Position

Under the direction of the Director of Equipment Engineering, the Equipment Engineer is responsible for evaluating, selecting, procuring, installing, modifying, upgrading, and maintaining tools and equipment in vacuum and thin-film manufacturing areas. The role analyzes equipment-performance data, prepares reports, presents findings, and recommends corrective and preventive actions. It manages tool-installation and hardware continuous-improvement projects, seeking to improve tool performance, uptime, reliability, yield, and productivity while reducing operating costs. The position is located in Milpitas, California. The Equipment Engineer supports the equipment lifecycle and collaborates with engineering, maintenance, operations, and other functional groups to resolve equipment issues and minimize downtime. The role maintains equipment documentation and schedules, investigates recurring failures, manages spare-parts inventories, develops recovery plans for hard-down conditions, and complies with applicable ISO 9001:2015 processes and safety procedures. The role works primarily indoors, Monday through Friday, in a Class 100 ESD-sensitive wafer manufacturing facility. The employee wears cleanroom attire and may travel between buildings. Work may involve exposure to hazardous conditions, chemicals, fumes, gases, and loud noise, as well as standing, walking, bending, twisting, crawling, fine grasping, computer and office-equipment use, and occasional pushing, pulling, or lifting up to 30 pounds. Occasional work in crawl spaces, shafts, or other potentially claustrophobic areas may be required.

Requirements

Associate’s degree in Electronics, Engineering, Maintenance Technology, or equivalent relevant experience; a bachelor’s degree is preferred.
Five years of experience as an Equipment Engineer or Senior Equipment Maintenance Technician in a high-volume semiconductor manufacturing environment.
Hands-on experience with thin-film processing tools, vacuum tools, or related semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Demonstrated experience troubleshooting, repairing, maintaining, modifying, or upgrading manufacturing tools and equipment.
Knowledge of semiconductor manufacturing principles, particularly equipment engineering, maintenance, reliability, and process performance.
Knowledge of the equipment lifecycle, including tool selection, ordering, installation, maintenance, modification, upgrading, and continuous improvement.
Ability to analyze equipment data, prepare reports and presentations, identify root causes, and recommend corrective and preventive actions.
Ability to troubleshoot, repair, and maintain thin-film, vacuum, and other semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Ability to implement improvements that increase equipment reliability and uptime, improve yield and tool performance, and reduce operating cost.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
Effective verbal and written communication skills and ability to work collaboratively with contractors, consultants, employees, engineers, technicians, and management.
Strong problem-solving, troubleshooting, organizational, time-management, and prioritization skills.
Flexibility and ability to prioritize.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree.

Responsibilities

Research, evaluate, and recommend vacuum and thin-film tools and equipment to improve uptime, reliability, productivity, yield, and operating cost.
Support the equipment lifecycle, including tool selection, ordering, installation, modification, upgrading, maintenance, and continuous improvement.
Analyze equipment and tool-performance data; compile technical reports, present findings, and recommend corrective and preventive actions.
Manage projects involving tool installation, equipment modification, upgrades, and hardware continuous improvement.
Ensure tools are maintained according to established schedules and remain within required specifications.
Write, revise, and maintain equipment-maintenance instructions, procedures, and related technical documentation.
Respond to equipment-related inquiries and provide technical support to other departments and functional groups.
Support achievement of quality, productivity, yield, uptime, reliability, and cost objectives.
Collaborate with engineering, maintenance, operations, and other cross-functional teams to resolve equipment and maintenance issues, improve reliability, review and improve procedures, and minimize downtime.
Investigate recurring equipment or part failures and implement countermeasures to prevent recurrence.
Maintain spare-parts inventories at appropriate levels to support equipment availability and timely repairs.
Research, develop, and implement emergency equipment-recovery plans for hard-down conditions.
Comply with applicable ISO 9001:2015 processes and procedures and required safety policies and procedures.
Perform other duties of a similar nature or level.