Senior Process Engineer - Electroless Copper

Senior Process Engineer – Electroless Copper

The Senior Process Engineer – Electroless Copper is responsible for the development, optimization, qualification, and control of electroless copper deposition processes used in glass panel semiconductor manufacturing. The role focuses on achieving robust metallization performance, uniform copper deposition, excellent adhesion, defect reduction, and stable process control for advanced packaging applications. This position plays a critical role in enabling reliable seed layer formation and metallization technologies for glass substrate integration and next-generation panel-level packaging.

Primary Responsibilities

• Develop and optimize electroless copper deposition processes for glass substrates, TGV metallization, seed layer formation, and panel-level packaging applications.
• Define and control critical process parameters, including bath composition, pH, temperature, agitation, loading factor, deposition rate, and replenishment strategy.
• Own and improve electroless copper process performance with focus on deposition uniformity, adhesion enhancement, defect reduction, and process stability.
• Lead root cause analysis and corrective actions for plating defects, including voids, skip plating, blistering, peeling, oxidation, roughness, and contamination-related failures.
• Drive process qualification, DOE execution, and recipe optimization for new tools, chemistries, additives, and substrate materials.
• Work closely with wet chemistry and analytical teams to ensure bath stability, contamination control, additive management, and process consistency.
• Develop and maintain SOPs, process specifications, OCAPs, bath control plans, and process documentation for manufacturing operations.
• Support pilot line and high-volume manufacturing ramp activities with emphasis on yield improvement, throughput enhancement, and process robustness.
• Ensure compliance with EHS and chemical safety requirements while driving continuous improvement in chemical usage, bath life, copper utilization efficiency, and manufacturing cost reduction.
• Own equipment process qualification activities, including SAT, installation, operational, and performance qualifications, process acceptance, and production release for DFR developer and stripper tools.
• Collaborate with equipment engineering teams to improve plating tool capability, chemical delivery systems, filtration efficiency, and equipment reliability.
• Drive preventive maintenance optimization and equipment health monitoring in collaboration with maintenance and equipment engineering teams to improve MTBF and reduce MTTR.

Requirements

• Engineering degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemistry, Metallurgy, or related field required.
• 8 – 12 years of experience in electroless copper plating, metallization processes, semiconductor wet processing, or advanced packaging technologies.
• Willing to relocate to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for 1-2 years and willing to relocate to India for 2 years or permanently. Or if currently in India, will require relocation to Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong understanding of electroless copper chemistry, surface activation, adhesion mechanisms, contamination control, and bath stability management.
• Experience with SPC, DOE, FMEA, process characterization, and analytical techniques for bath monitoring and metallization performance evaluation.
• Experience in panel-level packaging, TGV metallization, or advanced substrate technologies is highly preferred.
• Experience in wet process equipment and familiarity with characterization tools such as SEM, XRF, profilometry, adhesion testing, and optical inspection systems preferred.

Physical/Working Requirements

• Must be able to wear personal protective gear most of the day (where applicable).
• Prolonged periods of sitting or standing.

Behavioral Traits

• Strong verbal and written communication skills to convey quality standards, expectations, and feedback clearly to team members and stakeholders.
• A willingness to adjust to changing circumstances, processes, or technologies for continuous improvement in dynamic environments.
• The ability to work well with others, fostering a cooperative atmosphere, driving data management initiatives, and engaging all levels of the organization.