Engineering Technician, Epitaxy, Terafab at Tesla in Austin, TX

We are building Terafab, a vertically integrated semiconductor factory at unprecedented scale. Logic, memory, photomask, and advanced packaging under one roof — the factory that will produce the compute for SI5, SI6, Optimus, and DataSats. The research fab at Giga Texas is standing up first; the high-volume production fab follows.

As the Master Technician, you will install, commission, qualify, maintain, and improve process equipment from crate-open through first wafers and into production. That includes owning tool hookup against THDPs, facility utility bring-up, OEM SAT/FAT close-out, chamber recovery, robot teach, and the procedures that keep tools process-worthy. This is a greenfield opportunity, and you will be the person the shift calls when a chamber will not recover, a robot will not teach, or a PM has to be right the first time — writing the procedures other technicians run and training them to your standard at one of the most ambitious fabs in the world.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end tool install from crate-open through process release for semiconductor process and metrology equipment (etch, CVD/ALD, lithography/track, wet cleans, CMP, implant, diffusion, or in-line metrology)
• Work from Tool Hookup Design Packages (THDPs) as the field source of truth (utility matrices, stick diagrams, P&IDs, POU/VMB laterals, electrical one-lines, seismic/pad, exhaust/abatement, and isometrics); walk packages against as-built conditions, redline discrepancies, and close punchlist items with design engineering before OEM startup
• Interface daily with mechanical, piping, electrical, instrumentation, rigging, and GC trades during hookup: sequence bay and subfab work, verify stick and lateral installs against the THDP, witness pressure tests and continuity checks, and hold trades to cleanliness, slope, labeling, and LOTO standards
• Commission new equipment through facility utility bring-up (UPW, PCW, CDA, process gas, vacuum, exhaust, abatement, drain), I/O and interlock checkout, leak checks, robot teach, OEM SAT/FAT close-out, and handoff to process qualification with documented as-commissioned data
• Execute and improve preventive maintenance, chamber cleans, wet cleans kit changes, leak checks, and recovery sequences so tools return to process-worthy condition with documented particle, vacuum, and electrical results; troubleshoot vacuum, RF/plasma, gas and chemical delivery, pneumatics, interlocks, thermal systems, and wafer-handling robots to the component level
• Serve as the work-center point of contact with OEM field service during install, commissioning, escalation, and major PM events; partner with process and equipment engineering on first-of-kind configs, site prep gaps, punchlists, and process-of-record transfer while writing, redlining, and releasing procedures, checklists, LOTO sequences, and training materials
• Maintain tool logs, parts demand, and CMMS tickets; order, kit, and stage critical spares; enforce cleanroom protocol, chemical/gas safety, LOTO, and EHS requirements (stopping work when unsafe); and support compressed-week/off-shift coverage and travel between Giga Texas and the production fab site

Requirements

• Associate’s Degree in Electronics, Mechatronics, Vacuum Technology, or equivalent experience preferred
• 10+ years as an equipment technician, maintenance technician, or OEM field service engineer on semiconductor wafer process or metrology equipment in a cleanroom fab (15+ years on advanced-node logic or memory tools from Lam, AMAT, ASML, TEL, SCREEN, KLA, ASM, Ebara, or equivalent preferred)
• Hands-on troubleshooting experience with at least two of the following on 200 mm or 300 mm tools: high vacuum, RF/plasma, toxic/corrosive gas or chemical delivery, or atmospheric/vacuum wafer robotics; depth in one process module and working competence in a second preferred
• Proven chamber or wet-cleans recovery after PM, leak, particle, or RF mismatch events, including helium leak check, RGA, and residual gas/particle data review
• Ability to read and mark up electrical schematics, mechanical drawings, P&IDs, and Tool Hookup Design Packages; comfortable with multimeters, oscilloscopes, leak detectors, and RF diagnostic tools
• Experience training and certifying other technicians on PM, LOTO, and tool-specific procedures; experience standing up a new fab (crate-open, facility hookup, trades coordination, and OEM commissioning) preferred
• Working knowledge of MES/CMMS work orders, SPC alarms, and basic Excel; cleanroom discipline at ISO Class 3–5 and hazardous gas/chemical handling; military electronics, aviation avionics, or industrial controls background a plus