Job Title: Process Engineer

Work Location: Harris County, Texas

Summary:

Seeking a Process Engineer for a 5-6 month contract to support failure analysis, root cause investigation, and process engineering activities in a manufacturing environment. This role involves hands-on analytical work, method development, and collaboration with engineering teams to drive process improvements and product reliability.

Responsibilities:

• Lead failure analysis activities, investigating process excursions and yield losses to identify root causes and recommend corrective actions.
• Operate and maintain analytical tools such as SEM, EDX, XRD, and optical microscopy for defect identification and microstructural evaluation.
• Develop and maintain a defect library with representative images, classification criteria, and correlations to process parameters and product performance.
• Prepare samples using techniques like selective etching, cross-section polishing, and metallographic methods to expose features of interest.
• Perform destructive mechanical testing, including peel and adhesion tests, to evaluate interfacial adhesion across multilayer stacks.
• Develop, validate, and document standard operating procedures (SOPs) for characterization and testing methods, ensuring repeatable workflows and organized records.
• Support process engineering operations, including MOCVD, buffer layer deposition, sputtering, electroplating, and slitting, and assist with DOE execution and analysis.
• Participate in process reviews and continuous improvement initiatives, providing feedback on trends, failure modes, and process capability gaps.

Qualifications:

• B.S. or M.S. in Materials Science & Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Physics, or a related discipline.
• 2+ years of hands-on experience with SEM, EDX, XRD, and optical microscopy in a manufacturing, R&D, or quality lab environment.
• Experience with metallographic sample preparation (mounting, polishing, etching, cross-sectioning).
• Familiarity with adhesion/peel testing methods and mechanical property evaluation of thin films or coatings.
• Strong documentation skills, including writing SOPs, FA reports, and technical summaries.
• Proficiency with data analysis tools such as Excel, JMP, Minitab, or Python.
• Experience in thin-film deposition environments (PVD, CVD/MOCVD, sputtering, or electroplating) preferred.
• Background in superconductor, semiconductor, or advanced ceramics manufacturing preferred.
• Experience developing or validating new characterization methods from scratch preferred.
• Working knowledge of statistical process control (SPC) and DOE methodology preferred.
• Familiarity with structured problem-solving frameworks (8D, 5-Why, Fishbone) preferred.

Published Category: Manufacturing & Technical Operations