Manufacturing Engineer

A UK compound semiconductor foundry producing devices for mission-critical defence and commercial applications, with over 1.5 billion devices shipped to date. Backed by significant government investment and a 10-year growth plan, the site is scaling up as part of an emerging semiconductor cluster in the North East.

Company mission: Manufacturing next-generation compound semiconductors from a purpose-built Class 100 facility in the UK.

Role Overview

You will provide manufacturing and industrial engineering support to a high-volume wafer fab as it ramps. That means owning the fab capacity model that drives equipment purchases and staffing, and using WIP and equipment availability data to improve cycle time, line velocity, machine uptime and delivery performance. You will work closely with operations management, engineering and automation teams to optimise how WIP flows through the factory.

What You'll Own

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Capacity Modelling:**

• Maintaining the fab capacity model, keeping data integrity through engineering change control and regular contact with tool owners
• Running what-if analysis on business changes and advising which starts and mixes the factory can support, now and against the future order book
• Identifying the tools and moves needed to support shifts in starts mix
• Providing capacity and cost analysis to support decision making

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Cycle Time and Line Performance:****

• Developing and implementing solutions to problems affecting cycle time and delivery performance
• Collecting and validating data through stopwatch time studies and automation log analysis to measure the throughput impact of process changes
• Helping tool owners understand the capacity impact of process changes

Operations Support

• Working with engineering, manufacturing and planning on the release of new methods, flows and processes
• Estimating manufacturing cost, setting time standards and recommending tooling and process requirements
• Maintaining records and reporting systems, and providing information for management reviews of operational performance

What We're Looking For

Essential

• 2+ years in semiconductor, electronics or automotive manufacturing, covering capacity modelling, operational optimisation and data analysis
• Strong data analysis skills, including statistical analysis and modelling; advanced Excel
• Lean/Six Sigma experience and structured problem-solving methodologies
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering plus 3 years' industry experience, or a proven track record driving continuous improvement in industry
• Comfortable working in a cleanroom environment wearing a smock
• British citizenship, in line with the requirements of the role

Useful

• Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt certification
• Strong communication and presentation skills, used to presenting operational performance to management

Get in touch for a confidential conversation. Imogen@waverecruitment.co.uk