Senior Manufacturing Engineer – Thin Film Engineering (PVD, PECVD, ALD & RIE)
ENSURGE•San Jose, CA
•$162,000 - $198,000•Onsite
About The Position
Ensurge is seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer (IC) to own and scale the Thin-Film Engineering processes — deposition (PVD/Sputtering, PECVD, ALD) and etch (RIE) — from pilot through early production. This role is not just about process — it is about delivering manufacturing results.
Requirements
- 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
Nice To Haves
- 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
Responsibilities
- Own daily manufacturing performance for the PVD/Sputtering, PECVD, ALD, and RIE process areas
- Drive output, yield, uptime, and cycle time
- Support production directly — troubleshooting issues in real time
- Partner with Operations to ensure line execution meets plan
- Convert R&D processes into repeatable, production-ready workflows
- Define and lock critical process parameters (CPPs) — e.g., chamber pressure, Ar/process gas flow, RF/DC power, substrate bias, deposition rate, film stress and thickness uniformity targets (PVD/PECVD); precursor/co-reactant pulse and purge times, cycle count, growth per cycle (GPC), and substrate temperature (ALD); RF power, gas chemistry (e.g., CF4/O2/Cl2), etch rate, selectivity, sidewall profile/anisotropy, DC bias, and endpoint detection (RIE)
- Define and lock control limits and OCAPs
- Ensure processes are robust, stable, and scalable
- Work with Equipment Engineering to define tool requirements, improve reliability and uptime, implement process-driven upgrades, and lead tool qualification and process acceptance
- Own flow from substrate input → deposition/etch → downstream handoff to assembly
- Reduce bottlenecks, WIP, and inefficiencies
- Improve line balance and production scheduling alignment
- Support layout and flow improvements as the system scales
- Partner with Quality to implement SPC and process control on film thickness, stress, uniformity, and conformality, film characterization to validate deposition results against CPPs, and traceability and data capture
- Build and maintain SOPs, Process specs, and Control plans
- Ensure manufacturing is data-driven and auditable
- Lead structured RCA on yield loss, defects, and downtime
- Use characterization data to root-cause excursions
- Implement sustainable fixes — not workarounds
- Drive continuous improvement aligned to operational excellence principles (standard work, DMS, etc.)
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
