Thermal Engineer Jobs

About The Position

Requirements

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline; alternatively, a B.S. degree with 5+ years of semiconductor, photonics, or advanced manufacturing experience will be considered.
• Strong experience in wafer thinning, backside processing, CMP, thermal processing, and related semiconductor manufacturing technologies.
• Experience with semiconductor process development, integration, yield improvement, and production support.
• Working knowledge of polishing systems, grinding equipment, furnace systems, RTP tools, process control methodologies, and materials characterization techniques.
• Demonstrated experience using DOE, SPC, JMP, statistical analysis, and data-driven problem solving.
• Strong ownership mindset and demonstrated ability to drive projects independently and deliver measurable business impact.
• Excellent troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills.
• Ability to prioritize effectively and respond quickly to manufacturing challenges.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills in cross-functional technical environments.
• Familiarity with AI-enabled engineering tools and modern data analytics methods.

Nice To Haves

• Hands-on experience with wafer grinding, lapping, CMP, polishing, substrate thinning, furnace processing, RTP, annealing, and wafer handling technologies.
• Experience processing InP, GaAs, silicon photonics, III-V semiconductors, and advanced optoelectronic devices.
• Understanding of wafer mechanics, stress management, breakage reduction, thermal budget control, and backside process integration.
• Experience optimizing CMP consumables including slurries, polishing pads, conditioners, and endpoint methodologies.
• Experience with process characterization techniques including profilometry, interferometry, surface roughness measurement, SEM analysis, thickness metrology, bow/warp measurement, and defect inspection.
• Experience with high-volume manufacturing support, process transfer, and factory ramp activities.
• Experience collaborating with equipment suppliers and technology partners on process development initiatives.
• Passion for manufacturing excellence and continuous improvement.
• Proven success balancing long-term technology development objectives with urgent production support requirements.
• Strong sense of urgency, accountability, and commitment to supporting production and customer requirements.

Responsibilities

• Develop, qualify, and sustain backside wafer processing, wafer thinning, lapping, grinding, CMP, and thermal processes for InP photonic integrated circuit manufacturing.
• Own and optimize wafer thinning technologies, including mechanical grinding, lapping, polishing, stress relief, and final substrate thickness control.
• Develop and optimize CMP processes for planarization, surface finish improvement, thickness control, defect reduction, and yield enhancement.
• Own thermal processes including annealing, alloy formation, furnace processing, RTP, bake processes, and temperature-sensitive material integration.
• Optimize wafer thickness uniformity, total thickness variation (TTV), surface roughness, planarity, bow/warp, defectivity, thermal stability, and device performance.
• Drive defect reduction, yield improvement, and process capability enhancement using DOE, SPC, advanced analytics, and statistical process control methodologies.
• Perform root-cause analysis and implement corrective actions for process excursions, wafer breakage, polishing defects, thermal non-uniformity, equipment failures, and integration-related challenges.
• Analyze processes using first-principles, physics-based approaches to understand wafer mechanics, polishing mechanisms, thermal interactions, and material behavior.
• Collaborate with lithography, wet etch, dry etch, thin film, metallization, reliability, and device engineering teams to optimize process integration.
• Lead evaluations of new consumables, slurries, pads, grinding wheels, thermal recipes, and process technologies.
• Partner with equipment vendors and materials suppliers on hardware improvements, process optimization, reliability enhancements, and cost-of-ownership initiatives.
• Support technology transfer from development into manufacturing while maintaining process stability and manufacturability.
• Provide rapid response and technical leadership during process excursions and production-impacting events.
• Support a 24x7 manufacturing environment through issue escalation, troubleshooting, and on-call support when required.
• Use AI-enabled engineering tools, automation, and advanced data analytics to improve process development efficiency and manufacturing performance.