Group Manager (Semiconductors Operations)

Responsibilities:

• Responsible for site semiconductor engineering.
• Executes per plan to achieve site metrics that span Safety, Quality, Product Performance, Throughput, yield, and Cost
• Ensures engineering support in case of escalation from the 24x7 production operations; escalates to global teams in a timely fashion
• Collaborates with global teams to implement, and ramp new process and product technologies and helps troubleshoot performance gaps by providing the necessary leadership
• Develops and leads associate competency and development programs within the technical areas reporting to them
• Lends subject matter expertise pertaining to semiconductor processing to plant and global leadership; may lead one or more task forces or working groups to address strategic technical objectives
• Member of the site leadership team; covers for Semiconductor Operations Head in their absence

Safety and 5S:

• Drives and inculcates a strong safety-first culture and world-class house-keeping standards within plant operations to enable a zero-recordable rate
• Collaborates with EH& S to execute safety programs like Lock-out Tag-out and Incident Reporting and Management System
• Timely and appropriate resolution of equipment or process safety concerns

Operations:

• Provide leadership and oversight of plant engineering initiatives (thin-film deposition, diffusion-activation, cleans, and cell-definition groups).
• Chairs forums to monitor progress toward meeting plant metrics per P90 plan and identifies corrective actions as it pertains to man-method-machine performance.
• Collaborates with other functional leads in EH& S, Q& R, and supply chain to identify constraints to P90 at a tactical and strategic level and resolves them.

Engineering:

• Develops strategy for bottleneck management in the semiconductor operations area that includes setting OEE goals (uptime, unplanned downtime, G2G/MTTR, and yield) and deploying the right resources to address chronic issues.
• Collaborates with local integration teams to address equipment or process underperformance.
• Organize for fulfillment for ISO 9k, 14k, and 45k and RBA compliance through up-to-date process and equipment documentation and training records.
• Owner for cost monitoring and waste mitigation programs for BOM and equipment spares; supports the qualification of new suppliers.
• Accountable for global alignment and fingerprinting; deviations are reported and risk-assessed in a timely fashioncopy-exact vs. copy-smart as applicable.

Technology and Continuous Improvement:

• Establishes a DMAIC mindset among associates as a way of problem-solving and a Kaizen approach to improvement.
• Follows TOC (Theory of Constraints) concepts to resolve bottlenecks as it pertains to daily operations or roadmap execution.
• Participates in global forums (TRT, GAT), escalates process technology challenges that are a risk to P90 and collaborates on local and global solutions for the same.
• Collaborates with New Process Introduction and Global Technology teams develop an implementation plan for new processes or equipment and close gaps identified during execution.

People:

• Coach direct reports to execute per First Solar's vision, mission, and values.
• Architects and maintains oversight of continuous learning programs for associates in their organization to ensure a trained and competent workforce.
• Develops a strong bench of associates that can step up to the next level.

Requirements:

• Direct experience of at least 10 years in one of the areas: Photovoltaic Processing and Equipment Engineering, Large Area Glass Substrate Processes (Architectural or FPD), Thin-Film Deposition Processes or Equipment, or Laser Processes (Laser Cutting or Ablation Equipment).
• Able to draft department budgets and forecast capital and operational expenditures.

Behavioral:

• Safety-First Mentality.
• Must be self-motivated and able to provide strong leadership in a highly matrixed organizational structure.
• Provides leadership and strategy to accomplish First Solar's goals and objectives.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills as well as experience with cross-functional coordination required.
• Proven Employee Relations Skills and Knowledge of Human Resources Practices.
• Proven experiences in strategic planning and organization development to accomplish the company's mission and vision.
• Able to attract and develop talent from diverse backgrounds and experiences.
• Able to demonstrate core values of agility (championing changes, being creative and resilient), collaboration (building trust and respect, inclusion and diversity, and managing through conflicts), and accountability (committing and delivering through discipline and integrity, making data-driven decisions, and owning the outcomes).

Technical:

• Lean Six-Sigma background (Green-Belt or higher).
• Knowledge of industrial electrical, mechanical, high-vacuum, and laser processing systems.
• Demonstrated experience with implementing and sustaining Statistical Process Control Systems.
• Demonstrated experience with robust engineering and design of experiments.
• Adept with at least one data-analytics and visualization platform, such as JMP, Minitab, SAS, or Power BI.
• Knowledge of the Theory of Constraints.