PVD Engineer

Rigetti Computing is developing cloud-deployable quantum computers to solve humanity’s most pressing and valuable problems. We are a highly diverse and interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers working at the cutting edge of technology in a mission-driven entrepreneurial environment. We believe that bringing teams from various cultures, educational backgrounds, and technical disciplines helps them to see things from more points of view and to make great products that change the world for the better.

Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) processes are used to create ultra-thin, ultra-pure metallic and dielectric films for a variety of applications in semiconductor manufacturing. As a PVD engineer, you will be the tool owner and responsible for tracking the tool and process parameters for the fabrication of Josephson Junctions (JJs) which are critical devices in superconducting qubits. You will be working closely with the facilities/maintenance team to maintain tool health with preventive maintenance cycles and lead troubleshooting efforts in the case of tool failure modes. You will also be responsible for reviewing tool monitors and room temperature (RT) metrology data from JJ devices to maintain baseline. Your role includes working closely with the Lead JJ integration engineer and you are expected to help with identifying dependencies between the tool and JJ process. You will help to drive yield improvement through tool impacts on fabrication flow and yield outcomes. Together with senior integration engineers, you will be responsible for identifying new materials, tools and process improvements towards improved performance. You will work in a fast-paced environment and interact with a wide range of engineers and scientists in process, integration, design, failure analysis and quantum engineering. The ideal candidate will have advanced degree, coursework and hands-on fab work in at least one of the 2 critical areas, Physical vapor deposition (PVD) or superconducting/semiconductor device fabrication.

We are looking for someone who is diligent and excited about helping the Fab team with the wafer processing and contributes to steadily improving Quantum device performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor and implement effective process controls and preventive maintenance for PVD tools in JJ Modules area to maintain JJ operations
• Lead root cause investigations and troubleshooting efforts to solve technical, process and/or material related issues to maintain quality, operations and processes
• Analyze process data generated during Physical Vapor Deposition to identify trends and patterns in the fabrication of Josephson Junctions to improve the quality, reproducibility and throughput
• Develop new PVD processes to improve performance and maintain reproducibility with scaling
• Coordinate with facilities/maintenance team for periodic preventive maintenance and spare parts inventory
• Contribute to process development and certification for new PVD tools led by senior PVD engineers
• Collaborate with JJ integration engineer to identify dependencies between PVD tool and JJ process outcomes
• Help JJ integration engineer drive yield improvement through tool impacts on fabrication flow and yield outcomes
• Collaborate with senior integration engineers to identify new materials, tools and process improvements towards high performance

Additional Responsibilities

• Coordinate automation in monitoring PVD equipment and process data tracking
• Document findings and contribute to the development of standard operating procedures.
• Train process technicians to perform PVD tool operations

About You

• Master’s degree with minimum 3-5 years experience, or a PhD (preferred) in Physics/Applied Physics/Electrical Engineering/Material Science
• Expert level understanding of Physical Vapor Deposition techniques and principles
• Hands-on experience with PVD tools and processes (4 inch or 6 inch full wafer fabrication experience is a plus)
• Team player and mentally flexible by being open to different approaches and techniques
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a focus on data analysis.
• Strong foundation in principles of superconducting or semiconductor devices
• Strong foundation in semiconductor fab processes and operating principles
• Enthusiastic about learning and contributing to cutting-edge research projects
• Detail oriented and organized in documentation and reporting
• Meticulous with excellent time management and communication skills
• High degree of comfort with flexible, agile small company environment

Nice to Have

• Prior exposure to basic concepts of qubits and quantum computing
• Experience with fabrication of superconductor/semiconductor devices
• Prior experience in oblique angle deposition
• Prior technical role in an industry or start-up environment