Semiconductor Equipment Engineer

Semiconductor Equipment Engineer About Atomic Semi Atomic Semi is building a small, fast semiconductor fab. It’s already possible to build this with today’s technology and a few simplifications. We’ll build the tools ourselves so we can quickly iterate and improve. We’re building a small team of exceptional, hands-on engineers to make this happen. Mechanical, electrical, hardware, computer, and process. We’ll own the stack from atoms to architecture. Our team is optimistic about the future and we want to continue pushing the limits of technology. Smaller is better. Faster is better. Building it ourselves is better. We believe our team and lab can build anything. We’ve set up 3D printers, a wide array of microscopes, e-beam writers, general fabrication equipment - and whatever is missing, we’ll just invent along the way. Atomic was founded by Sam Zeloof https://www.youtube.com/@SamZeloof and Jim Keller https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Keller_(engineer). Sam is best known for making chips in his garage, and Jim has been a leader in the semiconductor industry for the past 40 years. About the team The Equipment Engineer sits within the Vacuum Systems hardware team that is responsible for designing, prototyping, validating, and scaling core semiconductor fabrication equipment. Tool families include Anneal, Deposition, Etch, and Supporting Infrastructure, with goals for each ranging from fundamental design to automation readiness to manufacturing scale-up. About the role We are looking for an Equipment Engineer with experience in equipment engineering and a demonstrated record of equipment design & equipment sustaining knowledge. The ideal candidate will be highly curious, have exceptional electro-mechanical troubleshooting abilities, and the ability to work independently from technical documentation. The Equipment Engineer is responsible for performing preventative and corrective maintenance, troubleshooting, upgrades, and calibrations on a diverse array of novel, complex, and evolving equipment used in process development and in R&D. They will work closely with both hardware engineers and process engineers to ensure maximum up-time for tools, to document common failure modes, and to improve equipment reliability, throughput, and process capability. Responsibilities - Generate accurate and detailed documentation for facility, maintenance, and process owners: Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), technical reports, corrective and preventive maintenance plans, and other critical documentation. - Respond to tool maintenance calls and take the lead role in bringing tools up efficiently and effectively. - Collaborate with engineering or other cross functional groups to investigate and resolve maintenance issues, improve equipment reliability, review procedures, and minimize equipment downtime. - Establish, review regularly, and respond to SPC alerts for equipment parameters. Monitor tool alarm logs regularly and follow through for proactive actions and continuous improvement opportunities. Drive tool matching and yield improvement through design and engineering improvements. - Actively contribute to continuous improvement programs to improve equipment performance and reliability; maximize Mean Productive Time Between Failure (MTBF). - Define and review regularly the minimum (reorder) and maximum spares quantities on critical and long lead items to ensure inventories are at the correct level to support equipment maintenance and repair effort. - Support and train maintenance personnel. Required Experience - Bachelors degree and 3+ years of applicable experience. - Strong understanding of wafer fabrication processes (etch, deposition, lithography, metrology, etc.). - Comfortable with Onshape, SolidWorks, or similar software. - Familiarity with equipment control systems vacuum systems, robotics, and cleanroom protocols. - Proficiency in data analysis, SPC, and root cause methodologies. Nice-to-have - Knowledge o ... (truncated, view full listing at source)