Staff Process & Equipment Engineer (AMAT Tools)

Northrop Grumman • Linthicum Heights, MD

103d • $163,200 - $244,800

About The Position

At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history. Northrop Grumman Microelectronics Center (NGMC) of Mission Systems is seeking a Staff Process & Equipment Engineer (AMAT Tools) for our Advanced Technology Lab (ATL) - located outside of Baltimore, Maryland - where we design, manufacture, and test semiconductor products for internal and commercial production customers as well as emerging technology programs.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM discipline (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math) and 12+ years of related experience; or Master's degree in a STEM discipline and 10 years of related experience.
• Prior experience with leading OEMs and/or HVM fabs.
• Proven expertise with 200mm or 300mm semiconductor equipment, such as ENDURA, CENTURA, PRODUCER, and/or MIRRA platforms.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, capable of working independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
• Demonstrated experience in leading projects, mentoring colleagues, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• Able to create and perform equipment and process partitioning to resolve hardware and/or process issues.
• Skilled in interpreting and modifying diagrams and schematics to effectively troubleshoot and resolve hardware issues.
• US citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Top Secret/SCI clearance with Poly required.

Nice To Haves

• Expertise in fingerprinting a wide range of Applied Materials equipment, including detailed assessments of hardware configurations, calibration parameters, and process variables.
• Strong understanding of experimental design methodologies, specifically full factorial and fractional factorial designs.
• Expertise in configuring and troubleshooting the ENDURA mainframe and process chambers, including optimization of processes to improve film uniformity, reduce defects, and increase overall throughput.
• Expertise in Centura etch eMXP + systems, specializing in high-aspect-ratio etches on silicon, metal, and dielectrics.
• Expertise in Centura CVD platforms to deposit high quality SIOx and SiN films, including modifying hardware and/or process.
• Expertise in MIRRA DESICA CMP for fully automated dry-in/dry-out planarization, including endpoint detection for multi-platen polishing, expertise in metal damascene and dielectric planarization, and knowledge in slurry chemistry and pad conditioning.

Responsibilities

• Lead process and/or equipment engineering efforts utilizing Applied Materials tools, a combination of ENDURA, CENTURA (dry etch and CVD) and MIRRA platforms.
• Focus on driving process optimization and enhancing equipment performance by collaborating with on-site AMAT FSO and engineering functions.
• Improve various operational metrics, including Process capability (CpK), Equipment availability, Tool down escalations, Maintenance ratio (M-ratio), Mean Time to Repair (MTTR), Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), Preventive Maintenance (PM) success rate, PM on-time and in-time metrics.
• Provide informal guidance to process and equipment engineers while collaborating and directing Customer Engineers (CEs) in both conference room and hands-on settings.
• Create and review documents covering technical improvements, system upgrades, support plans, maintenance manuals and process Best Known Methods (BKMs).
• Serve as the primary point of contact for tool downtime escalations, liaising between Applied Materials and internal stakeholders such as Operations, Process Engineering, Equipment Engineering, and site director.
• Analyze equipment performance and troubleshoot issues, driving data-based methodologies to enhance yield and efficiency.
• Lead process optimization initiatives, developing and implementing strategies to resolve on-wafer issues and diagnostics of equipment malfunctions.
• Collaborate with local and cross-functional teams to develop BKMs for the operation and upkeep of ENDURA, CENTURA, and MIRRA tools.

Benefits

• Health insurance coverage
• Life and disability insurance
• Savings plan
• Company paid holidays
• Paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Industry: Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree