Failure Analysis Manager - Sydney, Australia.

Our client  is a Sydney - based independent private Research and Development Company, with more than 500 employees in 5 countries.

We have been retained to recruit a Failure Analysis Manager, who will lead a team performing business conscious and value added failure analysis to determine root-cause of failures and support determination and implementation of solutions to reduce or eliminate failures. The role is to develop new Failure Analysis and Fault Isolation tools, techniques and methods to determine root-cause of failures as well as to help drive the expansion of the team to cope with the additional demands from manufacturing partner returns as well as returns from end users via the eventual returns protocol yet to be developed.

Responsibilities:
Provide day to day leadership for a team of highly qualified Failure Analysis engineers.
Development of FA signature database so that on-line assistance can be given to the company and related personnel seeking to understand particular failure modes.
Ensure that documentation systems are in place to properly underpin the analytical work of the FA team.
Ensure that failure analyses are performed in a timely manner consistent with the requirements of internal customers and external partners.

Failure Analysis team are responsible for determining root-cause of failures; sufficient to drive development and implementation of corrective actions and solutions to reduce or eliminate the failures. The areas of investigation could include some or all of these:

- Test and Circuit Fault Isolation. Such as die and flex circuit tracing.
- Fail signature analysis.
  • Print Quality and Test readout interpretation.
  • Gross area failure mapping.
  • Failure commonality studies.
  • Visual physical signatures (eg: die cracks)
- Die level physical FA, micro-surgery and reverse engineering.
  • print jet nozzle & CMOS 
    Physical FA, cross-sectioning and micro-surgery (lap or FIB).
  • Die attach FA.
- Flex level physical FA and Reverse Engineering.
  • Flex FA and wire-bonding FA.
- Foreign material and contamination Analysis.

Develop FA/FI tools, techniques and methods to systematically isolate failures and conclusively determine their root-cause. This includes:
- Test and screening methods.
- Enhancing physical detection methods.
- Reverse engineering.
- Advanced contamination and chemical analysis methods.
- Fluid, mechanical and thermal failure inducing and stimulating methods.
- Micro-surgery.

Manage the creation and enforcement of all FA/FI related documentation.
- Develop, document and enforce FA/FI response flow.
- Report and document all FA/FI tasks to meetings and management, until task closure.
Manage the escalation of task prioritization issues to upper management. Work as FA/FI technology expert with all other content and area experts to ensure a seamless and focused resolution to all product failures. Proactively work with engineering groups in Design, Materials, Chemistry, Process, Manufacturing, Test and Reliability to determine and support implementation of solutions to reduce or eliminate failures.

Development and training of appropriate partner entities (e.g. HVM partners) to assist in the triage and filtering of failed components prior to return. 

Experience and Skillsets Required:

Experienced in leading a team of qualified FA engineers and the toolset they need to use. However, the role is very much hands-on.
Knowledgeable and/or experienced in semiconductor failure analysis and fault-isolation tools, methods and techniques.
Knowledgeable and/or experienced in semiconductor fabrication and packaging technologies, semiconductor device functionality, engineering processes, product failure modes and product failure mechanisms.
Experience in systematic complex problem solving using proper documentation and methodology.
Good communication (both written and verbal) skills.
Good interpersonal skills with abilities to work in a team.
Ability to interact with all levels of management.

At least 5 years of comparable Failure Analysis experience in semiconductor or electronics industries or analytical laboratories.

Education
Essential:
An engineering degree (preferably Electrical, Mechanical or Material) or Science degree (Physics or Chemistry) or equivalent relevant experience.
Desirable:
Relevant Masters Degree or PhD.