Principal Engineer, Development Engineering

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

BE integration engineer and technical project lead responsible for evaluating how new wafer-level designs and materials perform through back-end slider processing. The role blends hands-on materials characterization cross-team coordination technology milestone tracking and emerging AI/ML capability development all within a HAMR recording head manufacturing environment.  Examples include:

• Wafer-to-slider BE assessment  Evaluate wafer designs at BE through process mapping electrical measurements and surface characterization using AFM SEM and FIB-TEM techniques.
• Technology milestone ownership  Tracks and drives BE evaluations for multiple technology milestones coordinating DOE (Design of Experiment) builds lapping and post-process inspections.
• Cross-functional coordination  Leads a bi-weekly WF/BE interlock meeting that bridges wafer-level (front-end) teams with BE development managing agendas and ensuring alignment across engineers in multiple geographies.
• AI/ML initiatives  Drives projects using machine learning and WDs ML platform for data-driven prediction of slider performance metrics.
• Process automation  Develops scripts for ISA data automation missing lot checking and multi-step query tools to improve team efficiency.

Qualifications :

REQUIRED:

• Bachelors or Masters degree in Science or engineering Physics Electrical Engineering Mechanical Engineering or related field 
• (Preferred) 35 years in HDD head manufacturing magnetic recording or semiconductor process engineering with hands-on experience using AFM SEM FIB-TEM and optical microscopy
• Experience with DOE (Design of Experiments) planning execution and statistical process control (SPC/EDCSPC) for data-driven decision making
• Familiarity with AI/ML tools for defect detection and process optimization

SKILLS:

• Proficiency in competitive and failure analysis methodologies
• Strong communication skills in English (written and verbal) for technical reporting and cross-site meetings
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate cross-functional teams (wafer process BE NPI and design groups) and manage multiple concurrent programs with clear timelines

Additional Information :

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Remote Work :

No

Employment Type :

Full-time