Senior Staff Process Development Engineer

Skywater•Bloomington, MN

About The Position

The Senior Staff Process Development Engineer will work in SkyWater’s Advanced Technology Services group, partnering with customers to develop customized technologies and focusing on fabrication and integration of quantum devices in a semiconductor foundry environment. The role develops and optimizes wafer-level process flows for low-loss photonic waveguides and supports integration of components for quantum applications. It works with customers and cross-functional teams to address manufacturability, processing, yield, optical loss, reliability, and device characterization, with the goal of moving devices into full-scale production.

Requirements

BS, MS, or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Physics, Optical Engineering, or a related discipline.
Experience with cleanroom fabrication tools, including lithography, etch, deposition, CMP, and metrology.
Engineering experience in a semiconductor fab or lab environment: 7 years with a BS, 5 years with an MS, or 2–3 years with a PhD.
Basic knowledge of semiconductor fabrication and equipment.
Strong organizational skills and work ethic.
Exceptional oral and written communication skills.
Ability to thrive in a large cross-functional program environment.

Nice To Haves

PhD in a related field.
Research experience in materials used in semiconductor manufacturing.
Exposure to various aspects of semiconductor manufacturing processes.
Experience with foundry-scale (200mm/300mm) photonic process design kits (PDKs).
Hands-on experience with photonic integrated circuit (PIC) fabrication in a cleanroom or fab environment.
Demonstrated experience with low-loss waveguide fabrication, including etch processes, cladding deposition, and propagation-loss reduction techniques.
Strong understanding of optical characterization techniques, including loss measurement and spectral characterization.
Familiarity with high-speed modulator design, fabrication, or characterization; RF/electro-optic co-design is a plus.
Working knowledge of quantum photonics principles applied to at least one of quantum networking, quantum sensing, or quantum computing.
Familiarity with cryogenic packaging or testing quantum hardware.
Background in RF/microwave engineering for modulator driver integration.
Publication record or patents in integrated photonics, quantum optics, or related fields.
Prior work in a semiconductor fab or foundry environment.

Responsibilities

Develop and optimize fabrication process flows for wafer-level manufacturing of low-loss photonic waveguides, ensuring seamless execution.
Support integration of components relevant to quantum applications.
Collaborate with process integration teams to troubleshoot yield, optical loss, and reliability issues across the fab flow.
Develop test and characterization methodologies for waveguide loss, modulator bandwidth, coupling efficiency, and device-level quantum metrics.
Interface with customer, design, process, packaging, and test teams to ensure manufacturability of quantum photonic devices.
Document process recipes, integration flows, and failure analysis for internal knowledge transfer and process control.
Collaborate with CAD engineers to validate incoming layout files and construct frames with essential metrology boxes and electrical test structures.
Implement data collection schemes and collaborate with process and tool experts to formulate effective process recipes.
Design and conduct experiments to validate and optimize process recipes.
Liaise with the failure analysis lab to submit samples for cross-sectioning and contribute to continuous improvement.
Monitor customer material and proactively address processing issues to ensure a smooth workflow.
Conduct regular customer meetings and provide project updates as materials move through the production line.
Deliver process reviews with the goal of transitioning devices to full-scale production.