Equipment Engineering Manager

FormFactor Inc.•Farmers Branch, TX

18h•Onsite

About The Position

The Equipment Engineering Manager leads the shift-based equipment support organization for FormFactor’s advanced manufacturing operations, providing leadership for Equipment Engineering Supervisors and technician teams across multiple compressed day and night shifts. This role is responsible for ensuring the safe, reliable, and efficient performance of manufacturing equipment by driving maintenance excellence, equipment reliability, troubleshooting effectiveness, technician development, and operational readiness. The manager oversees daily support operations while establishing standards, processes, and performance expectations that enable world-class equipment availability and manufacturing execution. Working closely with Manufacturing, Process Engineering, Quality, Facilities, EHS, IT/Manufacturing Systems, Supply Chain, and external suppliers, the Equipment Engineering Manager develops and executes strategies to improve uptime, reduce equipment-related risk, enhance maintenance effectiveness, and support factory growth. This leader is accountable for building a high-performing organization through strong supervisor development, workforce planning, continuous improvement, and data-driven decision making while fostering a culture of safety, quality, accountability, technical excellence, and operational discipline. The ideal candidate combines strong people leadership with a practical understanding of manufacturing equipment, enabling them to manage through supervisors while remaining engaged in the operational challenges and opportunities that drive business results.

Requirements

Minimum of 8 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 6 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD with 3 years experience; or equivalent experience

Nice To Haves

Experience leading supervisors, leads, or frontline technical teams in semiconductor, electronics, cleanroom, precision manufacturing, or advanced manufacturing environments.
Experience working in a quality-certified manufacturing organization (e.g., ISO 9001, IATF 16949, ISO 13485, or similar) with demonstrated adherence to quality systems, documentation, and change control processes.
Experience supporting multi-shift or 24/7 manufacturing operations, including compressed day and night shifts.
Strong knowledge of equipment troubleshooting, preventive and corrective maintenance, equipment recovery, qualification, reliability improvement, and manufacturing readiness.
Experience with automated production tools, metrology, inspection, test, handlers, probers, robotics, motion control, vacuum, pneumatics, controls, sensors, electrical, chemical, thermal, laser, or electromechanical systems.
Experience using CMMS, MES, SPC, FDC, dashboards, Power BI, Excel, SQL, JMP, Minitab, or similar manufacturing data tools.
Experience applying Lean, Six Sigma, 5S, kaizen, standard work, structured problem solving, FMEA, CAPA, DOE, or reliability-centered maintenance methods.
Working knowledge of EHS, lockout/tagout, electrical safety, chemical safety, machine safety, cleanroom protocols, quality systems, documentation control, change control, audits, deviations, and corrective actions.
Bachelor’s degree in engineering, engineering technology, manufacturing, automation, electronics, materials science, applied science, or a related technical field preferred; equivalent technical leadership experience may be considered.
Preferred certifications include Lean Six Sigma, CMRP, OSHA safety training, electrical / electronic certification, PLC / controls training, robotics training, project management, or equivalent credentials.

Responsibilities

Manage Equipment Engineering Supervisors and technician teams supporting four compressed day and night shifts.
Set expectations for safe work, shift execution, escalation discipline, technician coaching, pass-down quality, and cross-shift accountability.
Ensure timely response to equipment downtime, preventive maintenance needs, equipment qualifications, tool recovery, and production-critical escalations.
Improve equipment availability, MTBF, MTTR, maintenance compliance, repeat downtime, technician utilization, and manufacturing readiness.
Partner with Equipment Engineering, Process Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Facilities, EHS, IT / Manufacturing Systems, Supply Chain, and vendors to resolve issues and reduce operational risk.
Develop supervisors and technicians through coaching, performance management, training plans, succession planning, and leadership development.
Establish and sustain maintenance standards, troubleshooting documentation, escalation procedures, shift pass-downs, equipment support metrics, and continuous improvement practices.
Support equipment installation, startup, qualification, capacity expansion, factory ramp, new product introduction, and technology transfer activities.
Use maintenance systems, manufacturing data, dashboards, SPC / FDC outputs, work-order information, and technician feedback to drive data-based decisions.
Promote a culture of safety, quality, urgency, ownership, teamwork, technical discipline, and continuous improvement.