Sr. Principal Lithography Engineer

Job Title

Sr. Principal Lithography Engineer

Role Summary

The Senior Principal Lithography Engineer is the technical authority for advanced photolithography applied to MEMS product development and manufacturing. This role defines lithography strategy, leads process innovation, and drives implementation of high-resolution patterning solutions for probe card and vertical probe technologies.

The position leads cross-functional development, mentors engineering teams, and contributes to intellectual property and long-range technology roadmaps.

Experience Level

Senior - see Education Requirements for the required combinations of degree and experience (examples: Bachelor's + 8 years, Master's + 6 years, PhD + 3 years, or equivalent experience).

Responsibilities

Deliver technical leadership and execution for advanced lithography and microfabrication across R&D and manufacturing.

• Define and execute long-range lithography technology roadmaps and strategy for MEMS applications.
• Lead research, development, characterization, and rollout of next-generation photolithography processes.
• Design and run complex DOEs to optimize processes across substrate platforms and scale to manufacturing.
• Establish process windows, control methodologies, metrology requirements, and qualification standards.
• Perform failure analysis and root-cause investigations using optical microscopy, SEM, FIB, and related techniques.
• Apply statistical analysis and process characterization to improve yield, repeatability, and capability.
• Collaborate with R&D, design engineering, operations, equipment engineering, and quality to integrate lithography requirements into products.
• Mentor engineers and technicians, lead technical reviews, and drive invention disclosures and patent activity.

Requirements

Must-haves are technical skills and proven track record relevant to advanced photolithography and MEMS process development.

• Extensive hands-on experience with semiconductor photolithography processes, photoresists, optics, and microfabrication.
• Experience developing scalable, high-resolution processes with critical-dimension and overlay control.
• Skilled in designing and analyzing DOEs, statistical process control, and process characterization.
• Proficiency with failure analysis tools and techniques (optical microscopy, SEM, FIB, cross-sections).
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional projects and influence technical decisions at senior levels.
• History of driving innovation: patent filings, technical publications, or equivalent outcomes.
• Strong mentoring and organizational leadership skills.
• Nice-to-have: experience with Two-Photon Polymerization (2PP), Direct Laser Writing (DLW), Nanoimprint Lithography (NIL), maskless lithography, and probe card MEMS applications.

Education Requirements

Required: one of the following - Bachelor's degree plus 8 years related experience; Master's degree plus 6 years related experience; PhD plus 3 years related experience; or equivalent practical experience.

About the Company

Company: FormFactor

Headquarters: Livermore, California, United States

FormFactor provides test and measurement technologies and services for the semiconductor industry across the product lifecycle - including characterization, modeling, reliability, design debug, qualification and production test. The company serves customers globally through facilities in Asia, Europe, and North America.