Principal Yield Engineer

Nokia•Sunnyvale, CA

2d•$130,000 - $241,000

About The Position

We are seeking a Principal Yield Engineer to provide technical leadership for fab-wide yield improvement, manufacturing process control, and new Fab ramp readiness in a rapidly growing InP photonic integrated circuit (PIC) wafer fab environment. This role serves as a recognized subject matter expert and thought leader, driving cross-functional alignment, establishing scalable yield-management systems, and defining long-term manufacturing quality and process-control strategies across the organization.

Requirements

PhD preferred, or MS in Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Physics, or a related engineering discipline.
10+ years of semiconductor or HDD high-volume manufacturing experience.
Proven track record leading major yield-improvement programs resulting in measurable factory-level impact.
Experience investigating yield excursions and driving structured problem-solving is strongly preferred.
Demonstrated experience leading complex technical initiatives with multiple engineering organizations.
Recognized technical expert in yield engineering, process control, manufacturing quality, or process integration.
Demonstrated ability to influence senior engineering and operations leadership and drive technical decisions without direct organizational authority.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting technology transfer, fab replication, or manufacturing scale-up activities.
Demonstrated success building yield-management systems, SPC frameworks, or factory-wide process-control methodologies.
Previous technical leadership of engineers across multiple functional groups.
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or equivalent manufacturing excellence experience.

Responsibilities

Establish factory-level frameworks for yield management, excursion response, process control, and quality governance.
Lead technical reviews for major yield excursions, chronic manufacturing constraints, and technology-transfer readiness.
Prioritize yield opportunities and lead cross-functional initiatives delivering measurable factory-level improvements in yield, scrap reduction, and manufacturing robustness.
Lead resolution of critical yield excursions, wafer scrap events, and manufacturing quality incidents.
Drive cross-functional investigations involving Integration, Process, Equipment, Manufacturing, Facilities, and Quality teams.
Establish root cause, define corrective actions, and ensure sustainable closure through structured problem-solving methodologies.
Mentor Yield, Process, Integration, and Quality Engineers in SPC, DOE, root-cause analysis, and manufacturing problem-solving methodologies.
Establish best practices and standard work to improve engineering execution across organizations.
Serve as a recognized technical authority for yield, process-control, and manufacturing-quality decisions.
Drive continuous improvement of manufacturing quality systems, including SPC governance, excursion management frameworks, control-plan execution, and factory-wide yield visibility.