Director Semiconductor Application Engineering

Director Semiconductor Application Engineering
Location:
Charlotte Office

Job Description:
Role purpose

Build Sibelco's application-led semiconductor capability and help transform HPQ from a raw-material offering into a strategic technology partnership. The role connects customer process requirements with product engineering, qualification, T&I and manufacturing, enabling Sibelco to influence customer roadmaps, accelerate qualification, strengthen value-in-use arguments and co-develop next-generation HPQ solutions.
Key accountabilities
Customer technology engagement
• Act as a senior technical counterpart to semiconductor fabs, wafer and crucible producers, fused-quartz fabricators and semiconductor equipment OEMs.
• Engage customer process engineering, R&D, quality and technology-roadmap teams at application level rather than limiting discussions to material specifications.
• Lead technically credible conversations across crucibles, fused-quartz consumables, clean thermal applications, etch and other targeted semiconductor applications.
• Build structured engagement plans for strategic ecosystem participants, including equipment makers, fabricators, research institutes and end users.
Application and product development
• Map customer process conditions, failure modes and performance requirements to relevant HPQ material properties.
• Translate application requirements into product targets covering impurity chemistry, hydroxyl content, particle-size distribution, fusion behaviour, bubble formation, devitrification, viscosity and component lifetime.
• Co-lead application-specific product development and validation with T&I, operations, external laboratories and customers.
• Develop value-in-use dossiers that link HPQ characteristics to yield, component life, particles, downtime, process stability and qualification risk.
Qualification and technical problem solving
• Provide application-level input to qualification strategy while Technical Sales & Customer Qualification retains milestone and quality-interface ownership.
• Support root-cause analysis of qualification failures and customer performance issues, converting findings into product, process or specification improvement actions.
• Define testing protocols, acceptance criteria and evidence packages for application validation.
• Capture and reuse qualification learning across customers, applications and regions.
Technology roadmap and competitive intelligence
• Monitor semiconductor process evolution, advanced logic, memory, HBM, advanced packaging and other trends that may change quartz performance requirements.
• Assess application-level threats and opportunities from synthetic silica, silicon carbide, ceramics and other alternative materials.
• Identify defend, grow, explore and no-go application zones based on technical fit, qualification barriers and value creation.
• Provide technical insight to long-range HPQ product and capacity roadmaps.
Knowledge and capability building
• Create and maintain a central application knowledge repository combining analytical, modelling, laboratory, qualification and customer information.
• Publish internal application guides, customer-facing technical papers and training materials.
• Coach Strategic Account Sales, Technical Sales, T&I and operations teams in semiconductor applications and customer process requirements.
• Help recruit and develop additional application engineers as customer demand and the co-development pipeline scale.
Experience and qualifications
Education
• Master's degree required; PhD preferred in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Semiconductor Engineering, Physics, Ceramics, Glass Science or a related discipline.
Professional experience
• Typically 10 to 15 years of relevant experience in semiconductor equipment, device manufacturing, process integration, semiconductor materials, fused quartz or high-purity materials.
• Demonstrated experience translating process or device requirements into material or component specifications.
• Experience with customer qualification, change control, failure analysis and cross-functional technical problem solving.
• Credibility engaging technical leaders within equipment OEMs, fabs, wafer producers, crucible manufacturers or quartzware fabricators.
• Experience leading technical work across multiple regions and organisational boundaries.
Preferred industry backgrounds
• Semiconductor equipment or process technology companies such as Lam Research, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, Kokusai, ASM or comparable organisations.
• Device, foundry or memory manufacturers such as Intel, TSMC, Samsung, Micron or comparable organisations.
• Quartz, crucible or materials companies such as Heraeus, Momentive, QSIL, SUMCO, Shin-Etsu or comparable organisations.

Employee Type:
Permanent