Chemical and Materials Engineer

The Process Chemist is the factory's chemistry authority, supporting a panel-level advanced-packaging line that runs a wide range of wet chemistries — cleans, etches, electroless and electrolytic plating baths, develop and strip chemistries, desmear, and surface finish. You will guide the engineering teams on which chemicals to select and use, ensure those chemistries are compatible with the tools and materials they touch, own the safe delivery and disposal of chemicals across the facility, and be the go-to resource for safety data and handling requirements.

This is a hands-on, cross-functional role at the intersection of process engineering, facilities, and environmental health and safety (EHS). The chemistries on this line are demanding and, in several cases, hazardous, so sound chemical judgment directly protects yield, uptime, the environment, and the people on the floor.

Responsibilities

Chemical selection and process support. Advise the process-engineering team on which chemicals and formulations to select and use across each unit process — cleans, etches, plating baths, develop/strip, desmear, and surface finish — balancing performance, cost, reliability, safety, and environmental impact, and supporting bath make-up, replenishment, analytics, and troubleshooting.

Chemistry and tool compatibility. Evaluate and qualify the compatibility of chemistries with process tools, wetted materials, plumbing, seals, and the glass panels and package materials themselves; identify corrosion, contamination, and material-degradation risks and recommend compatible alternatives or mitigations.

Wastewater treatment. Own the chemistry of wastewater and effluent treatment — neutralization, metals precipitation/recovery, fluoride treatment, and abatement — ensuring the facility meets discharge permits and environmental regulations, and partnering with facilities on treatment-system design, operation, and monitoring.

Chemical delivery units (CDS). Specify, qualify, and support chemical-delivery and bulk-dispense systems (chemical delivery units, blending/dosing, and point-of-use delivery), ensuring accurate, safe, and reliable supply of chemistries to the tools, and defining maintenance and change-out procedures.

Analytical laboratory setup and operation. Establish and lead the site's analytical chemistry laboratory from the ground up — defining the lab layout and safety infrastructure, specifying and qualifying instrumentation (e.g., ICP-OES/AA, ion chromatography, HPLC, titration and cyclic-voltammetric stripping for bath analytics, pH/conductivity, FTIR/UV-Vis), and developing, validating, and documenting the analytical and bath-analysis methods that enable real-time process and quality control. Own calibration, sampling protocols, data management, and lab staffing/training as the capability scales.

Safety data and hazard management. Serve as the site expert on safety data sheets (SDS/MSDS), chemical hazard classification, storage segregation and compatibility, personal-protective-equipment requirements, exposure controls, and emergency response — with particular rigor for high-hazard chemistries used on the line.

Cross-functional partnership and documentation. Work closely with process, equipment, facilities, EHS, and supply-chain teams and with external chemical suppliers; maintain approved-chemical lists, specifications, and handling procedures, and support incident investigation, audits, and regulatory reporting.

Minimum Qualifications

Master's degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related field (Ph.D. preferred).

More than 7 years of relevant industrial experience in process chemistry, wet-chemical manufacturing, or a comparable environment.

Hands-on experience with panel-level manufacturing processes is required.

Working knowledge of chemistry–tool and chemistry–material compatibility in a wet-process manufacturing environment.

Direct experience with wastewater / effluent treatment chemistry and with chemical delivery / bulk-dispense systems.

Demonstrated experience setting up and/or running an analytical chemistry laboratory, including selecting instrumentation and developing/validating analytical and bath-analysis methods.

Strong command of safety data sheets (SDS/MSDS), chemical hazard management, and industrial chemical-safety practices.

Preferred Qualifications

Any of the following are a strong plus:

Experience working with glass substrates or glass-based panel processes.

D. in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering.

Experience with hydrofluoric acid (HF) and other high-hazard chemistries, including handling, exposure control, and emergency-response protocols.

Experience with electroless and electrolytic plating chemistry, bath analytics, and additive control.

Familiarity with environmental permitting and regulatory standards (e.g., EPA, OSHA, local discharge and air-emission requirements) and with EHS management systems.

Ability to automate data collection, bath-analytics tracking, or reporting using Python, MATLAB, or AI-based tools.