Staff Engineer, Equipment Engineering

Western Digital • San Jose, CA

89d

About The Position

The Staff Equipment Engineer is a hands-on technical expert responsible for sustaining, improving, and qualifying Thin Film process equipment—specifically Vacuum Ion Beam Etch (IBE) and Vacuum Ion Beam Deposition (IBD) systems—in a high-volume wafer fabrication environment. This role requires strong analytical, project management, and cross-functional collaboration skills to drive equipment reliability, process capability, and cost efficiency.

Requirements

• B.S. in Electronics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field.
• Minimum 4 years of experience in equipment sustaining or engineering roles in a wafer fab environment.
• Strong mechanical and electrical aptitude with hands-on troubleshooting experience.
• Proficiency in data analysis, SPC, and root cause methodologies.
• Experience with Veeco IBE and IBD systems.
• Knowledge of vacuum systems, helium leak detection, and control systems (PLC, Galil, Devicenet).
• Strong communication and documentation skills; ability to train and lead cross-functional teams.
• Proficient in MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook), JMP, and Project.
• Experience in magnetic recording head wafer processing.
• Familiarity with endpoint detection tools (Hiden SEM, JA Wollam Ellipsometer, Mass Spectrometry).
• Experience with Brooks wafer handlers (MAG7, VTR5, Aligners, VCE6).
• CAD experience (SolidWorks, AutoCAD) and geometric tolerance knowledge.
• Six Sigma certification or training.
• Experience with Wiki-based documentation systems.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate, select, and implement cost-effective equipment solutions aligned with manufacturing requirements.
• Lead equipment upgrades, installations, and modifications to support new technologies and increase throughput.
• Own preventive maintenance programs, spare parts planning, and documentation (procedures, troubleshooting guides, configurations).
• Monitor and improve tool performance metrics (MTBF, MTTR, AOU); report weekly and drive improvement plans.
• Analyze SPC charts and alarm logs; respond to out-of-control conditions and tool aborts with root cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Support and train maintenance personnel; develop certification programs and technical training materials.
• Collaborate with QA, Process Engineering, and Maintenance to reduce wafer scrap and improve tool uptime.
• Lead or support projects focused on grid life, yield, cycle time, and tool matching.
• Respond to down tool escalations and lead recovery efforts efficiently and effectively.
• Participate in new tool specification, vendor negotiations, design reviews, and qualification testing.
• Ensure documentation and knowledge transfer across shifts and functions.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives and stay current with emerging equipment and process technologies.

Benefits

• Paid vacation time
• Paid sick leave
• Medical/dental/vision insurance
• Life, accident and disability insurance
• Tax-advantaged flexible spending and health savings accounts
• Employee assistance program
• Other voluntary benefit programs such as supplemental life and AD&D, legal plan, pet insurance, critical illness, accident and hospital indemnity
• Tuition reimbursement
• Transit benefits
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Western Digital Savings 401(k) Plan

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees