Senior Staff Failure Analysis Engineer

Semtech•Camarillo, CA

1d•$103,000 - $170,000•Onsite

About The Position

Semtech’s Failure Analysis team is a group of passionate and talented engineers tasked to analyze complex analog and mixed signal IC failures, determine the mechanism and physics behind product failures, and provide valuable technical recommendations to prevent recurrence of failures at Semtech’s manufacturing line and end customer. These challenging tasks are accomplished through extensive training on semiconductor FA methodologies and techniques, use of state-of-the art FA laboratory equipment, and technical discussions with cross-functional engineering teams. The Senior Failure Analysis Engineer leads full package and die-level failure analysis (FA) of analog and mixed-signal ICs, covering electrical testing, failure mode characterization, fault isolation, circuit analysis, and physical defect localization. Supporting failures from end customers as well as internal teams — including Reliability Qualification, Manufacturing Test, Design, and New Product Characterization — the engineer documents all findings in formal technical reports. This role demands exceptional attention to detail, strong organizational skills, and the ability to communicate complex results clearly across cross-functional engineering teams.

Requirements

At least 5 years experience in semiconductor IC Failure Analysis.
Hands-on experience in operating the following FA equipment: Curve Tracer, Parametric Analyzer, Scanning Acoustic Microscope, SEM/EDX, Microprober, Photon Emission Microscope and Laser Signal Injection Microscope.
Hands-on experience in performing the following physical FA steps: chemical decapsulation, deprocessing and staining, mechanical/parallel lapping, mechanical cross-sectioning, and polishing.
Proficient in electrical circuit analysis, bench testing and instrumentation.
Knowledge in IC fabrication, semiconductor physics, BJT and MOSFET theories and basic circuit configurations.
Proficient in MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
Strong verbal and written communication skills, analytical and problem solving skills, teamwork and cross-functional team coordination.
Willing and able to work in a laboratory environment onsite in Camarillo.
Willing and able to work non-traditional hours as needed to meet urgent customer requests — for example, occasional evening conference calls or weekend support to address time-sensitive customer needs.
Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics, Electrical or Electronics Engineering.

Nice To Haves

Experience performing ion milling.
Experience in FIB X-sectioning, Circuit Edit FIB, STEM/TEM and Nanoprobing/EBIC/EBAC techniques.
Experience in the analysis of III-V materials like GaAs and InP.
Additional experience in the following engineering disciplines: Product Quality and Reliability, Test/Product Engineering, Design/Validation/Characterization, Applications, and Wafer Fab.
Experience in using AI tools.

Responsibilities

Performs die level and package level failure analysis of customer and internal failures by independently utilizing multiple FA tools and techniques with no supervision.
Generates formal FA reports for customers and internal requestors to summarize and communicate the technical analysis results.
Works and collaborates with various engineering teams such as QA &Reliability, Design, Applications, Wafer Fab, Assembly, Product and Test Engineering as appropriate, for root cause analysis and resolution of customer and internal issues.
Participates in continuous FA technique development and process improvements, monitoring and maintenance of laboratory supplies and consumables, optimization and maintenance of laboratory tools and equipment.