Research Associate (Semiconductor Equipment Development Senior Engineer)

University-Level Unit:
College of Design and Engineering

Faculty/Department-Level Unit:
Materials Science and Engineering

Employee Category:
Research Staff

Location:
Kent Ridge Campus

Apply now

Job Description

About the Project:
Backed by a $5M Central Gap Fund grant, our research group at the National University of Singapore (NUS) is commercializing a breakthrough Ultralow-K (ULK) Monolayer Amorphous Carbon (MAC) dielectric technology. Having successfully validated the core materials physics at the lab scale, we are now solving critical reactor scaling challenges to transition our UV-CVD prototype into a scalable 200mm/300mm commercial alpha tool. This technology solves the critical interconnect RC-delay bottleneck in sub-3nm advanced CMOS nodes and has already secured strong evaluation traction from top-tier global semiconductor and equipment manufacturers.

The Opportunity:
Are you a highly skilled systems integrator or NPI engineer looking to step away from standard fab shift rotations and rigid OEM maintenance routines?

We are seeking a true "Tool Builder" to act as our Lead Equipment Engineer and drive the commercial scale-up of our proprietary hardware.
This role offers a highly competitive base salary and a standard 5-day work week. More importantly, this is a foundational role: successful execution over the 2-year grant period offers a direct pathway to transition into a planned deep-tech spin-off as a core engineering leader. You will bring industry-standard engineering discipline to our academic research team, gaining the rare opportunity to engineer a first-of-its-kind semiconductor manufacturing tool that will directly impact the global sub-3nm interconnect roadmap.

Key Responsibilities:

• Commercial Scale-up: Lead the mechanical and systems design transition from our current 100mm R&D chamber to an industry-compatible 200mm/300mm advanced dielectric deposition alpha tool.
• Hardware/Software Integration: Develop robust control systems for high-vacuum environments, reactor gas dynamics and distribution, precision thermal management, and high-voltage/RF power delivery modules. Program data acquisition and automated control loops, integrating complex hardware via RS-232, Modbus, DAQ cards, and exploring industrial protocols as we scale.
• Technical Ownership & Collaborative Engineering: Work closely alongside our core R&D scientific team to solve fundamental reactor physics bottlenecks. Translate complex process phenomena (e.g., localized thermal gradients, window degradation, laminar gas curtains) into robust, repeatable commercial hardware architectures.
• Process Hardware Optimization: Troubleshoot and optimize high-vacuum subsystems, reactor gas dynamics (e.g., mitigating thermal convection, optimizing gas curtains and showerhead design), and advanced UV/ionization source integration to enable <5% wafer-scale uniformity.
• Engineering Discipline: Enforce industry-standard methodologies across the lab for tool qualification, system schematics, baseline testing, and design of experiments (DOE). Leverage industry networks to rapidly source specialized vacuum hardware.

Qualifications

Qualifications / Discipline:
Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, or a related engineering discipline.

Skills:

• Deep, hands-on expertise in high-vacuum ph