Plasma Dry Etch Engineer – R&D (Advanced Packaging)

About Absolics

Absolics is a leading provider of advanced packaging technologies and services for high-performance computing. We deliver scalable solutions to clients globally, specializing in large glass substrates with integrated active and passive elements to improve signaling characteristics and power consumption.

The Role

We seek a highly skilled Dry Process Engineer to join our R&D team. You will lead development of dry processing capabilities across plasma etch, physical vapor deposition (PVD), and plasma-based ablation for advanced packaging interconnect structures. This hands-on position requires expertise in equipment and process qualification, recipe development, and cross-functional integration with lithography, wet process, and plating teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and qualify plasma etch, PVD seed deposition, and plasma ablation processes for RDL build-up and interconnect structures
• Establish process flows controlling film uniformity, via/trench step coverage, taper/sidewall profile, and layer-to-layer adhesion
• Create and optimize plasma recipes for etch selectivity, minimizing defects including micro-masking, residue, and undercut
• Conduct root-cause and failure analysis on dry-process defects using SEM, XPS/AES, and electrical metrology
• Assess plasma-induced damage risk (charging, UV effects) on dielectrics and downstream reliability
• Collaborate with wet process and plating teams to ensure clean handoff of seed layers and trench/via structures

Required Experience

• Hands-on plasma etch process development (RIE, ICP, or barrel plasma) in semiconductor or packaging environments
• Direct experience with PVD sputter deposition of seed layers (Ti, TiW, Ta, Cu), including thickness uniformity, step coverage, and adhesion control
• Experience with plasma-based dielectric ablation techniques and descum on organic or inorganic dielectrics (ABF, PBO, PSPI, polyimide)
• Proficiency in design of experiments (DOE) and rigorous root-cause analysis methodologies
• Familiarity with vacuum-based unit processes and process integration workflows