About our group:
Join our Vacuum Process Engineering team in Normandale, MN, and play a key role in advancing Seagate’s cutting-edge Hard Disk Drive (HDD) technology. In this position, you will optimize processes and tooling for manufacturing the latest generation of recording heads that power our industry-leading storage solutions.
Collaborate with a team of vacuum process and control engineers and managers to enhance yields, improve efficiency, and reduce costs in Magnetic Recording Head production. Your contributions will support the high-volume delivery of recording heads built on HAMR technology, driving innovation in data storage.
The Process Engineering team oversees all tooling used in the fabrication of Magnetic Recording Heads for Seagate HDDs. We utilize both traditional process-control methods and advanced algorithmic systems, including Advanced Process Control (APC), to monitor process health in real time and implement automated adjustments.
By leveraging statistical analysis, we optimize product performance and yields through continuous process and tooling improvements. Our top priority is ensuring that every recording head we ship meets rigorous product specifications, driving quality and efficiency in high-volume manufacturing.
About the role - you will:
- Develop, implement, optimize, and control vacuum processes—such as deposition, reactive etching, ion milling, or magnetic annealing—within a controlled manufacturing environment. Ownerships evolve over time, providing opportunities for professional growth and development.
- Utilize metrology, defect analysis, and statistical analysis to ensure process capability and precision.
- Support and optimize new processes for manufacturing the latest generation of magnetic recording heads based on HAMR technology.
- Apply Six Sigma methodologies to maximize performance and minimize variability through hands-on structured experiments, including One Factor at a Time (OFAT) testing on managed vacuum processes.
- Develop systematic and automated methods for maintaining process control across multiple tools, implementing SPC charts, Out-of-Control Action Plans (OCAPs), and Material Dispositioning instructions.
- Learn, design, and implement Automated Processor-Based Process Control systems to enable real-time, error-free process adjustments and maintain product specifications.
- Maintain all process documentation and ensure consistency across Seagate’s recording-head manufacturing sites.
- Evaluate and introduce new production equipment, create required manufacturing documentation, and train production staff on standardized procedures.
- Oversee manufacturing challenges, including scrap reduction, rework, cycle-time improvement, and multi-path maintenance.
About you:
- A background in vacuum science or vacuum wafer processing.
- Experience identifying key process input variables using statistical Design of Experiment (DoE) methods to maximize product performance and yield.
- Proficiency in statistical data analysis and defect analysis to improve process capability and optimize yields.
Your experience includes:
- Bachelor's Degree in Material Science, Chemistry, Chemical & Electrical Engineering or Physics and 5+ years of experience, or Master’s degree in Material Science, Chemistry, Chemical & Electrical Engineering or Physics and 3+ years of experience, or PHD and 0+ years of experience or equivalent education and experience.
- Hands-on familiarity with vacuum-related tooling and processing, with a strong understanding of their operation.
- Applying engineering statistics to solve technical challenges, gained through formal education or practical application.
- Creating or utilizing processor-based process control systems to enable real-time automated decisions and process corrections for maintaining product targeting.
- Developing and optimizing vacuum-based processes, preferably using Design of Experiment (DoE) methodologies.
You might also have:
- PVD deposition processing, ion etching (reactive and/or ion mill), or thermal vacuum annealing wafer processing knowledge, with an understanding of magnetic principles and phenomena.
- A fundamental understanding of light propagation through materials and the resonant responses that are induced.
- A background in a manufacturing setting or process development employing vacuum techniques and processes.
- Experience with Six Sigma methodologies, holding a Green or Brown Belt certification.
The estimated base sal