Semiconductor
Tools running, yield holding.
Equipment technicians, process and yield engineers, metrology, test and cleanroom operations. Ramp a new tool set, cover a shift pattern, or hire the engineer who owns a module.
- 6 functions
- from equipment and process through metrology, test, facilities and operations
- Tool specific
- screened on the platforms you run, because tool experience does not transfer freely
- Shift honest
- compressed work weeks and night rotations confirmed before you meet anyone
Semiconductor
Tool experience does not transfer as freely as resumes suggest.
We staff fabs, OSATs, equipment suppliers and materials companies: equipment maintenance, process engineering, metrology and yield, test and product engineering, facilities, and cleanroom operations.
This is the most tool specific industry we recruit for. A technician who has maintained one vendor's etch platform is genuinely valuable and only partially transferable to another, and pretending otherwise wastes everybody's time.
The second constraint is the shift. Compressed work weeks and night rotations are normal here and they narrow the field considerably, so we confirm tolerance before anyone is put forward.
Functions
What we actually recruit for.
Pick one and you get what they actually produce, the seniority we fill, and the tools and standards a screen has to cover.
Preventive maintenance, corrective repair, qualification after PM, and the uptime a module is measured on.
- Seniority we fill
- Equipment technician through to lead technician
- Tools
- Applied MaterialsLam ResearchASMLKLATEL platforms
- Standards
- Cleanroom protocolLockout tagoutChemical and gas handling
Preventive maintenance, corrective repair, qualification after PM, and the uptime a module is measured on.
- Seniority we fill
- Equipment technician through to lead technician
- Tools
- Applied MaterialsLam ResearchASMLKLATEL platforms
- Standards
- Cleanroom protocolLockout tagoutChemical and gas handling
The vocabulary
What we recruit against.
Tool platform, module and shift. Those three questions decide almost every semiconductor shortlist we build.
Equipment platforms
- Applied Materials
- Lam Research
- ASML
- KLA
- TEL
- Axcelis
- Nova
Process areas
- Etch
- Litho
- Deposition
- CMP
- Implant
- Diffusion
- Wet clean
Analysis
- JMP
- SPC
- FDC
- SEM
- Defect inspection
- MES
Standards
- ISO 14644
- SEMI S2
- ESD control
- Gowning protocol
- Chemical and gas safety
Which vendor, which tool, which module, which node. Four questions that decide a semiconductor shortlist before experience is even discussed.
Screening
How we screen for a fab.
Semiconductor screening is narrow and specific by necessity. Broad questions produce broad shortlists, which in this industry means useless ones.
- 01
Platform and module named
Which vendor, which tool, which process module and at what node. This is the question that decides the shortlist.
- 02
Depth established
Preventive maintenance only, corrective repair, or qualification after PM. Three very different technicians share one job title.
- 03
Shift tolerance confirmed
Compressed work weeks, twelve hour rotations and nights. Confirmed with the candidate in writing, because it narrows the field more than any technical requirement.
- 04
Cleanroom and safety readiness
Gowning experience, ESD discipline, chemical and gas handling, and any medical or fit test requirement your site applies.
- 05
A reference from a module or shift lead
Somebody who saw their uptime and their qualification record, not a general supervisor.
Straight answer
Where the market is actually tight.
What our recruiters see running these searches. Experience rather than a guarantee.
| Role | What the market looks like | Realistic shortlist |
|---|---|---|
| Cleanroom operators | Available near established fab clusters, thin everywhere else. | One to two weeks |
| Facilities and sub fab technicians | Tight, and competing directly with data centre demand for the same people. | Three to four weeks |
| Metrology technicians | Tight. Platform specific experience narrows it quickly. | Three to four weeks |
| Process engineers | Competitive, and node and module specific. | Four to six weeks |
| Test and product engineers | Tight, particularly with ATE programme experience. | Four to six weeks |
| Equipment technicians on specific platforms | The hardest semiconductor hire we run, and the market is national rather than local. | Six weeks and up |
Relocation is normal in this industry rather than exceptional. If the package does not allow for it, the search is limited to a local population that is usually already employed by your neighbour.
Shapes
Three shapes this usually takes.
Semiconductor demand is driven by ramps, tool installs and shift coverage.
Tool install and ramp
Technicians and engineers against an install and qualification schedule.
- When it fits
- New tool sets, a fab expansion, a node transition.
- The arrangement
- Contract for the ramp, with the option to convert the ones you want to keep.
Shift coverage
Filling a rotation that has to be staffed around the clock.
- When it fits
- Compressed work weeks, night crews, leave cover on a critical module.
- The arrangement
- Contract or contract-to-hire, with shift tolerance confirmed up front.
The permanent hire
The engineer or technician who owns a module.
- When it fits
- Process engineers, yield engineers, senior equipment technicians.
- The arrangement
- Direct hire, usually with relocation in the package.
Before you call
What to have ready before you call.
Four specifics here are worth more than a full job description.
- The tool vendor and platform, and the process module
- The node, and whether experience at an adjacent node is acceptable
- The shift pattern, including compressed weeks and night rotations
- Whether relocation is supported, and to what level
- Cleanroom class, gowning and any medical or fit test requirement
- The rate or salary band, benchmarked against the national market rather than the local one
Open roles
A sample of semiconductor roles we fill.
Questions
Before you call.
Very. Vendor, platform, module and node. Semiconductor is the most tool specific industry we recruit for, and a general requirement produces a general shortlist, which here means an unusable one.
Ramping a tool set?
Tell us the vendor, the module, the node and the shift. The more specific the brief, the shorter the search.