TEM Application Expert

About this position

What you will do

You will be a member of the TEM operations team within the FAB. This team is responsible for both in-line and off-line electron microscopy inspections. These inspections play a crucial role throughout the technology development cycle, providing wafer-level characterization of processes and materials used in both More-than-Moore applications (such as MEMS, actuators, and sensors) and Core semiconductor technologies (including SRAM, MRAM, and 3D integration).

At the heart of our innovation is imec’s state-of-the-art pilot line, one of the world’s most advanced semiconductor R&D environments. In this experimental production facility, we develop and validate next-generation semiconductor manufacturing processes before transferring them to leading international chip manufacturers. By providing our customers with the knowledge and technologies needed to meet increasingly demanding requirements, we help drive innovation across the semiconductor industry.

To achieve this, we rely on our high-tech cleanroom facilities and advanced characterization capabilities. We are currently looking for a highly skilled TEM Application Expert with a strong background in Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and semiconductor materials characterization.

The ideal candidate will have either a PhD in a relevant field or 5+ years of hands-on experience in TEM applications and workflow optimization. In this role you will have the following key responsibilities:

• You are a technical expert in TEM sample preparation and inspection, with deep knowledge of the current capabilities and limitations of TEM tools, especially as applied to advanced semiconductor materials and structures.
• You will design, develop, and optimize automation recipes for TEM sample preparation and inspection workflows, ensuring high reproducibility, throughput, and quality.
• You actively collaborate with cross-functional teams including application specialists, lab assistants, and operations managers to ensure smooth execution and continuous improvement of TEM services.
• You are a co-owner of departmental targets, contributing to strategic goals such as throughput, quality, and innovation.
• You ensure high-quality and efficient intake of first-time requests, translating customer needs into actionable and well-documented workflows.
• You serve as the primary point of contact for evaluating and validating documented customer requests, ensuring technical feasibility and alignment with available capabilities.
• You proactively identify efficiency bottlenecks and quality risks, and take initiative to implement corrective actions or propose process improvements.
• You stay up to date with emerging TEM technologies, automation tools, and semiconductor characterization techniques, and integrate relevant advancements into recipe development..

You will work in a dynamic multidisciplinary and multicultural environment in close cooperation with researchers, hardware and process engineers, industry assignees, tool suppliers, device- and process experts.