Sr. Vacuum Equipment Engineer

About our group:

This position will work with the Vacuum Equipment Engineering team in our Bloomington, MN facility to support the vacuum equipment used to build the recording heads that go into every Seagate Hard Disc Drive (HDD). Equipment Engineering is the backbone of Seagate’s wafer manufacturing excellence. Our team ensures every piece of tooling on the factory floor operates at peak performance to fabricate the Magnetic Recording Heads that power Seagate’s world-class HDDs. We combine proven equipment control strategies with advanced KPIV streamline systems to monitor equipment health in real time and take proactive, automated actions. We also manage the development and deployment of new wafer manufacturing tools. You will interact with a range of team members, including technicians, operators, engineers, and management. You will also have the opportunity to share your knowledge and learn from others on the team. Seagate believes this is critical to the growth of our employees and our company.

About the role - you will:

• Be responsible for the development and deployment of equipment (deposition, reactive etching, and annealing) within a manufacturing setting. Ownership will evolve over time, allowing for professional growth.
• Oversee manufacturing equipment issues, including equipment scrap, MDA, cycle-time reduction, and multi-path maintenance.
• Develop factory automation systems to improve tool performance (C#, Python, R).
• Develop systematic and automated methods for tool control across multiple tools, including implementing streamline KPIV controls, Out-of-Control Action Plans (OCAPs), preventive maintenance plans (MP), equipment manufacturer training plans, and safety processes.
• Use Six Sigma methodologies and techniques to maximize tool performance and minimize variability.
• Evaluate, recommend, and ensure tools, parts, and materials are appropriate and cost-effective for manufacturing.
• Oversee the installation, modification, upgrade, and maintenance of manufacturing equipment.
• Maintain all equipment control documentation and ensure consistency across Seagate’s recording-head manufacturing sites.
• Provide technical support to manufacturing equipment repair and process engineering organizations.
• Apply AI-driven workflows to improve operational performance.

About you:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence and gain alignment across cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze data and perform KPIV analysis to predict tool performance and identify excursions.
• Willingness to work after hours on an as-needed basis.

Your experience includes:

• Wafer manufacturing and semiconductor production equipment.
• Knowledge of design of experiments (DOE) methodologies.
• Statistical analysis tools, including Six Sigma, JMP, Minitab, or similar software.
• AI and machine learning applications.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience with vacuum-related tooling and processes such as physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, ion beam milling, ICP etching, or annealing technologies in high- to ultra-high-vacuum environments.
• Computer hardware and/or programming.
• GPA of 3.0 or above.
• Bachelor's Degree in Materials Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field and 5+ years of experience, or Master’s degree in the same fields and 3+ years of experience, or PhD and 0+ years of experience or equivalent education and experience.