US Customer Quality Manager, Semiconductor Materials

Merck•Carlsbad, CA

2d•Remote

About The Position

This role leads the next generation of semiconductor materials and equipment that power the digital age. It blends technical leadership with strategic vision to drive innovations that improve performance, yield, and reliability in advanced manufacturing. The position collaborates with cross-functional teams and external partners to translate breakthroughs into scalable solutions, shaping the roadmap for future devices, systems, and applications that enable connectivity and intelligent technologies. The role is customer quality focused, leading and managing the successful completion of US-based customers’ quality initiatives with a global and diverse workforce. It serves as the technical communication bridge between EMD sites globally and US customers to understand their needs and help them advance their technology. This includes developing tactical and strategic roadmap items to address immediate and future needs. The role owns customer engagement between sites and customers for quality issues, enabling site capabilities while ensuring sites meet developed rubrics and customer expectations. It collaborates with the account team to deliver world-class results to customers and leads customer taskforces to ensure customer trust in EMD technical aptitude. The position serves as the voice of US customers to global sites and supplier-quality teams for semiconductor materials, developing strategic, long-term relationships with regional customers to establish trust and position the company as a preferred partner. It fosters and develops key broader industry relationships to enhance EMD Electronics' quality brand image and capabilities. The role provides key input to technical and commercial risk analysis of new product and change implementation by participating in site change management review and provides support for customer PCN submission and approval. It reviews, approves, and communicates customer OCAP (Out of Control Action Plan) reports provided by production sites for product CoA OOC (out of control), OOB (out of boundary), OOS (out of specification), HH/HL (Historical high/Historical low) cases. The position acts as the key stakeholder in troubleshooting and problem-solving of customer quality issues, leading customer task forces, and reviewing and approving 8D reports with high power factor corrective and preventive actions (CAPA). It develops automated visualizations and data dashboards to update status and key success indicators and leads the success of semiconductor quality with customers in Korea.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science, or another technical discipline.
5+ yrs in chemical manufacturing, process engineering, control engineering, analytical chemistry, or semiconductor fabrication experience.
5+ yrs of successful customer engagement (semiconductor customer preferred).

Nice To Haves

5+ yrs of process or integration or yield engineering experience in semiconductor fabrication, preferably in Thin Films or SOD processes.
Moderate to advanced statistical knowledge (SPC, t-test, ANOVA, single and multivariate statistical modeling).
Proficient with data science/statistical software including JMP, Palantir Foundry, Python, and/or visualization tools such as Tableau.
Excellent oral and written communication skills.
Experience with process improvement, data automation, and data digitization.
Demonstrated ability to remain objective with co-workers and work collaboratively with multiple internal stakeholders.
Established success in contributing to the advancement of projects, project teams, and process improvements.
Excellent time management and organizational skills with the ability to handle multiple activities and projects.
Exhibited experience with Lean and/or Six Sigma projects or in data-driven process optimization projects.
Experience in quality tools for problem solving (5Whys, segmentation, Model Based Problem Solving), FMEAs, continuous improvement (CI) activities, management of change (MOC), and document control systems.
Ability to work with people from various backgrounds/cultures.
Experience with ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems ISO9001 or IATF 16949 Internal Auditor Certification
SAP experience

Responsibilities

Lead and manage successful completion of US based customers’ quality initiatives with a global and diverse workforce.
Serve as the technical communication bridge between EMD sites globally and US customers to understand their needs and where EMD will help them advance their technology forward.
Own customer engagement between sites and customers for quality issues: enable site capabilities while ensuring sites meet developed rubrics and customer expectations.
Collaborate with account team to deliver world class results to customers.
Lead customer taskforces to ensure customer trust in EMD technical aptitude.
Serve as the voice of US customers to global sites and supplier-quality teams for semiconductor materials, developing strategic, long-term relationships with regional customers to establish trust and position the company as a preferred partner.
Foster and develop key broader industry relationships to enhance EMD Electronics' quality brand image and capabilities.
Provide key input to technical and commercial risk analysis of new product and change implementation by participating in site change management review; provide support for customer PCN submission and approval.
Review, approve, and communicate customer OCAP (Out of Control Action Plan) report provided by production site for product CoA OOC (out of control), OOB (out of boundary), OOS (out of specification), HH/HL (Historical high/Historical low) cases.
Act as the key stakeholder in troubleshooting and problem solving of customer quality issues; Lead customer task forces, review and approve 8D report with high power factor corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).
Develop automated visualizations and data dashboards to update status and key success indicators.
Lead the success of semiconductor quality with customers in Korea.