Foundry Operation Principal Engineer

Job Title

Foundry Operation Principal Engineer

Role Summary

The Foundry Operation Principal Engineer coordinates wafer manufacturing and program management activities with third-party foundries to ensure capacity, yield, quality, and on-time delivery. This role acts as the technical and project interface between NXP and external foundries during product transfers, qualifications, and volume ramp-up.

Works with internal stakeholders (product, innovation, business lines) and external foundry teams to resolve process excursions, drive continuous improvement, and manage launch and ramp activities.

Experience Level

Senior — requires significant industry experience; posting specifies a minimum of 7 years in a semiconductor fab environment.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include operational coordination, project management for external foundries, and stakeholder communication.

• Coordinate wafer manufacturing activities and ensure capacity meets short- and long-term production needs.
• Manage delivery, throughput time, yield and quality performance for third-party foundries; track improvements and follow up on actions.
• Review and manage process changes between third-party foundries and business lines; ensure change follow-through.
• Lead root-cause analysis and corrective actions for customer complaints, hold lots, and yield/process excursions.
• Define project timelines, resources, and risk mitigations; monitor execution against agreed timelines.
• Drive new product transfers, process qualification, and product introduction in external foundries; chair gate meetings and report to stakeholders.
• Coordinate safe-launch and volume ramp-up; monitor continuous yield and process improvement activities with local foundry teams.
• Maintain relationship management and regular reviews with third-party foundries; support sourcing and cost/price discussions.

Requirements

Must-have technical and professional requirements and preferred additional skills.

• Minimum 7 years' experience in a semiconductor fab environment; experience in Process Integration, Device or Yield engineering is preferred.
• Proven ability to manage cross-functional projects and work independently.
• Fluent in English and Chinese (written and spoken).
• Experience driving process improvements and coordinating with external manufacturing partners.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with statistical and quality tools for problem solving and process control.
• Familiarity with KLA ACE XP, JMP, SPSS, Minitab or similar data-analysis tools.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering, Materials Science or Electronics (or closely related technical field). Preferred certifications and knowledge mentioned: Six Sigma Green Belt and SPC/statistical process-control tools; familiarity with KLA ACE XP, JMP, SPSS, Minitab. (No explicit equivalency statement provided.)

About the Company

Company: NXP Semiconductors

Headquarters: Nijmegen, Netherlands

NXP Semiconductors N.V. is a global semiconductor company that provides High Performance Mixed Signal and Standard Product solutions. With over 45,000 employees and operations in more than 35 countries, NXP is a leader in secure connectivity solutions for embedded applications, catering to automotive, industrial IoT, mobile, and communication infrastructure markets. The company is committed to innovation and sustainability, advancing a smarter, safer, and more sustainable world through technology.