Process & Defect Engineer
Polar Semiconductor•Bloomington, MN
•$111,000 - $154,000•Onsite
About The Position
The Senior Staff / Principal Process & Defect Engineer is responsible for driving defect reduction, process development, and cross-functional project execution across wafer fabrication operations. This role owns defect strategy, excursion response, and process improvement initiatives, while partnering with integration, equipment, and operations teams to improve yield, stability, and manufacturability.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s or higher in: Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Physics, or related field
- 8+ years (Senior) or 12+ years (Principal) in: Semiconductor manufacturing
- Defect engineering, yield, or process integration
- Strong background in: Defect inspection (KLA, SEM review)
- Data analysis (JMP, Python, SQL, or equivalent)
- DOE and statistical analysis
Nice To Haves
- Experience with: Cross-functional fab leadership
- Project/program management
- new product development (NPD) learning cycles
- Knowledge of: SPC systems
- Yield modeling and defect classification systems
Responsibilities
- Own defect performance across assigned process areas (FEOL/BEOL integration loops)
- Lead defect excursion response, lot disposition (MRB / ICAR support), and root cause analysis
- Drive defect reduction strategy using Pareto, correlation, and signature mapping
- Define monitoring strategies (KLA / inspection layers) and OCAP triggers
- Design and execute DOE experiments and split lot analysis
- Optimize inspection strategies, recipes, and tool conditions
- Develop Best Known Methods (BKM)
- Support new process introduction and evaluate defect risks
- Lead multi-discipline yield and defect reduction projects
- Coordinate across process, equipment, operations, and defect teams
- Drive project execution, timelines, and technical deliverables
- Present findings and recommendations to leadership
- Own defect inspection tools (KLA, SEM)
- Develop inspection recipes and sensitivity optimization
- Ensure tool matching and data consistency
- Translate defect signatures into process actions
- Support fab operations and escalation response
- Improve communication and passdown structure
- Standardize defect workflows and documentation
- Identify improvements for cycle time and efficiency
Benefits
- health, dental, vision, disability and life insurance
- 401(k) plan with company match
- paid time off
- annual bonus
- tuition reimbursement
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
