Staff Engineer, Thin Film Vacuum Deposition Process Engineer

Company Description

At WD, our vision is to power global innovation and push the boundaries of technology to make what you thought was once impossible, possible.

At our core, WD is a company of problem solvers. People achieve extraordinary things given the right technology. For decades, we’ve been doing just that—our technology helped people put a man on the moon and capture the first-ever picture of a black hole.

We offer an expansive portfolio of technologies, HDDs, and platforms for business, creative professionals, and consumers alike under our Western Digital®, WD®, and WD_BLACK™.

We are a key partner to some of the largest and highest-growth organizations in the world. From enabling systems to make cities safer and more connected, to powering the data centers behind many of the world’s biggest companies and hyperscale cloud providers, to meeting the massive and ever-growing data storage needs of the AI era, WD is fueling a brighter, smarter future.

Today’s exceptional challenges require your unique skills. Together, we can build the future of data storage.

Job Description

We are seeking a high-caliber Thin Film PVD Process Engineer to join our process engineering team and support our  24/7 wafer manufacturing line. In this pivotal role, you will collaborate closely with manufacturing, maintenance, and equipment teams to troubleshoot complex technical issues and drive measurable improvements in tool utilization, yield, and operational efficiency. You will also partner with yield, development, and integration specialists to design experiments and seamlessly transition new processes into the production environment. Proficiency in SQL is needed for data extraction and process monitoring.  You will be expected to work with advanced process control team and other process engineers to test out, debug, and implement new automation software for vacuum deposition tools.  The ideal candidate possesses strong troubleshooting skills and technical expertise in thin film vacuum deposition tools and films.  Knowledge of magnetics materials is a plus.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Responsible for creating stable thin film Vacuum Deposition processes for manufacturing
• Responsible for monitoring the performance of tooling used in the manufacturing process
• Responsible for maintaining documentation and creating process instructions for manufacturing
• Test out, implement, and maintain Advanced Process Control software on production tools
• Work with others to troubleshoot any downtime or process problem
• Work with the equipment and manufacturing teams to improve yield and utilization
• Responsible for providing support to a 24/7 manufacturing site
• Responsible for finding  issues impacting process quality, throughput, or yield  
• Take responsibility to resolve issues impacting cycle time and yield.
• Able to gather data to find correlations using SQL

Qualifications

Qualifications

Required:

• BS/MS/PhD in Engineering (Computer, Electrical, Mechanical, Material Science) or Physics or related engineering field
• Experience of wafer fab operations/processes in Data Storage and/or Semiconductor technology industries

• Familiar with thin film deposition processes (PVD, CVD, IBD, etc), and equipment.  Solid background on correlation of process and equipment hardware
• Deep understanding of material characterization techniques.
• Knowledge of DOE and data analysis using JMP
• Understanding of SPC.

Preferred:

• Knowledge of Magnetic material process and characterization is a plus.

Skills:

• Trouble shooting and problem-solving skills
• Leadership and communication skills
• Team player
• Being self-motivated with good project management skills

Salary Ranges: 115,200.00-153,600.00

Additional Information

WD is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on their race, color, ancestry, religion (including religious dress and grooming standards), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), gender (including a person’s gender identity, gender expression, and gender-related appearance and behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth), age, national origin, sexual orientation, medical condition, marital status (including domestic partnership status), physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, protected medical and family care leave, Civil Air Patrol status, military and veteran status, or other