Process Engineer, Gold-To-Gold Interconnect & Flip Chip Assembly (Starlink/Akoustis)

The role

This person will develop, optimize, qualify, and implement advanced IC assembly processes. Work focuses on Gold-to-Gold Interconnect and thermosonic flip-chip bonding from prototype through production ramp.

What you will do

• Develop and qualify GGI and thermosonic flip-chip / die-attach processes
• Develop gold stud bump, gold bump, and gold-to-gold interconnect processes
• Develop and optimize vacuum mold lamination and related encapsulation
• Support related assembly steps like wafer/die handling, placement, and inspection
• Select and characterize assembly materials
• Specify, evaluate, install, and qualify assembly equipment with suppliers
• Run DOEs, capability studies, and SPC on critical parameters
• Drive NPI from prototype through qualification and production release
• Correlate process settings to electrical, mechanical, and reliability results
• Perform root-cause analysis and support failure analysis

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, materials science, mechanical engineering, or other engineering discipline
• 2+ years of hands-on semiconductor assembly, IC packaging, or electronics manufacturing experience
• Onsite in Bastrop, TX
• Up to 20% domestic and international travel for supplier and manufacturing support
• Ability to work in a semiconductor manufacturing environment, follow safety and cleanroom requirements, and perform light physical tasks
• Lifting up to 25 lbs and handling wafers, substrates, packages, tooling, and assembly samples
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

Nice to have

• 3+ years of hands-on IC assembly or advanced packaging experience, including direct GGI or similar gold-based interconnect work
• Hands-on thermosonic flip-chip bonding and gold stud bumping, gold bumps, or gold-to-gold interfaces
• Vacuum mold lamination or advanced encapsulation
• Understanding of plasma/surface preparation, substrates, warpage, CTE mismatch, thermal-mechanical stress, adhesion, and delamination
• DOE, SPC, Cp/Cpk, root-cause analysis, FMEA, Six Sigma, and control plans
• Inspection and metrology and interconnect characterization
• Package reliability testing and standards (JEDEC, IPC), plus experience supporting OSATs or contract manufacturers
• CAD (AutoCAD) and familiarity with simulation tools (ANSYS, COMSOL, or similar)
• Data analysis with JMP, Minitab, MATLAB, or Python
• Experience qualifying new assembly equipment and tooling and troubleshooting issues directly on the manufacturing floor

Before you apply

• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, o

About the company

Akoustis is a wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceX providing industry leading RF filters using patented XBAW technology. SpaceX is actively developing technologies to enable human life on Mars.