Senior Electrical Systems Engineer

Job Title

Senior Electrical Systems Engineer

Role Summary

Work on electrical system reliability, supply chain, and component logistics for a 300mm electron-beam inspection tool (eProbe®) used in semiconductor fabs. The engineer will drive reliability engineering, failure analysis, test planning, and supplier coordination across electrical subsystems from design through field deployment.

Experience Level

Senior-level role. See Education Requirements for the published years-of-experience guidance by degree; strong demonstrated experience in reliability engineering for complex capital equipment is expected.

Responsibilities

The main responsibilities are to ensure electrical subsystem reliability and availability, define and execute reliability tests, and manage critical component procurement and supplier performance.

• Define and own reliability requirements and tracking for electrical subsystems (power distribution, HV supplies, control/detection electronics, motion control, high-vacuum electronics).
• Apply Design for Reliability (DfR) methods and lead reliability risk reviews and design validation gates.
• Create and execute stress, burn-in, and accelerated life test plans (ALT, HALT, HASS, HTOL, thermal cycling, vibration).
• Perform failure analysis and drive corrective and preventive actions; coordinate internal and third-party analysis.
• Manage BOMs, obsolescence risk, part qualification, and substitution strategies.
• Coordinate with vendors, contract manufacturers, procurement, and operations to ensure on-time delivery and component quality.
• Analyze supplier performance and identify supply-chain risks to maintain manufacturing uptime.
• Support field deployment reliability planning and field-return data analysis.

Requirements

Required technical skills and practical experience; degree and certification details are listed under Education Requirements.

• Proven experience with electrical subsystems used in semiconductor tools: AC/DC power distribution, high-voltage supplies, precision/high-speed electronics, motion-control and vacuum electronics.
• Hands-on reliability engineering experience: DFMEA/DFMECA, fault-tree analysis, MTBF/FIT estimation, and ALT/HTOL execution.
• Experience managing supply chain, logistics, vendor relations, and parts qualification for PCBs and electrical assemblies.
• Failure analysis skills using techniques such as SEM/EDS, X-ray, dye/pry and coordinating lab or vendor analyses.
• Experience with circuit simulation and PCB tools (examples: LTspice, Altium) and reliability prediction/modeling tools (example: ANSYS Sherlock).
• Strong problem solving, written/verbal communication, and project management skills.
• Experience with capital equipment (preferred): electron-beam inspection or e-beam lithography tools and field reliability support.

Education Requirements

Degree required: Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or equivalent engineering field (typical experience guideline: B.S. + ~10 years), or Master’s (M.S.) + ~8 years, or Doctorate (Ph.D.) + ~4 years; the posting allows equivalent practical experience in lieu of degrees. Also expects familiarity with industry standards/certifications for power electronics and reliability (examples noted: IEC, UL, JEDEC, IEEE).

About the Company

Company: PDF Solutions

Headquarters: San Jose, California, United States

PDF Solutions provides data-driven software and inspection systems for semiconductor manufacturing, focusing on yield enhancement, process control and advanced e-beam inspection platforms for leading-edge fabs.