Vacuum Process Senior Engineer (HAMR)

Location: Onsite in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States; Monday–Friday during core business hours at the Bloomington manufacturing site. Travel up to 10%.

Salary: $94,100–$134,600 estimated base salary per year.

Company

hirify.global develops and manufactures magnetic recording heads and hard disk drives, including products based on HAMR technology.

What you will do

• Develop, implement, optimize, and control vacuum processes including deposition, reactive etching, ion milling, and magnetic annealing.
• Use metrology, defect analysis, statistics, Six Sigma, and structured experiments to improve process capability, product performance, yield, and variability.
• Support new manufacturing processes for HAMR magnetic recording heads.
• Develop SPC charts, OCAPs, material disposition instructions, and automated process-control systems across multiple tools.
• Maintain process documentation, ensure process consistency across manufacturing sites, and introduce new production equipment.
• Address manufacturing issues including scrap, rework, cycle-time reduction, and maintenance paths while training and certifying production personnel.

Requirements

• Background in vacuum science, vacuum processing, or vacuum-based process development.
• Experience with reactive or ion-mill wafer etching, sputter deposition, and vacuum-related tooling.
• Knowledge of statistical analysis, engineering statistics, design of experiments, defect analysis, and yield optimization.
• Bachelor’s degree in materials science, chemistry, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, or physics with 5+ years of experience; or a master’s degree with 3+ years; or a PhD with 0+ years, or equivalent education and experience.
• Familiarity with magnetic principles and manufacturing process environments.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Copilot and other AI tools; experience with Python, Power Automate, or OCAPs is relevant.

Nice to have

• Experience with Six Sigma as a Green or Brown Belt.
• Knowledge of light propagation through materials and resonant responses.
• Interest in machine learning, generative AI, and data science.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time employee benefits include medical, dental, vision, and life insurance.
• Benefits include disability coverage, 401(k), employee stock purchase plan, health savings account, dependent care, and healthcare spending accounts.
• Paid time off includes 12 holidays, flexible time off, at least 48 hours of paid sick leave, and 16 weeks of paid parental leave.
• The Normandale campus provides an onsite café, fitness center, wellness programs, meditation rooms, walking paths, cultural events, and volunteer opportunities.