Dir, Engineering - US-CA-Fremont (1003), United States
$168,000 - $350,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 22 September 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This Director, Engineering will lead the global hardware, firmware, and FPGA engineering organization responsible for Lam’s equipment control systems across multiple product platforms. This role owns the strategy, development, qualification, release, and lifecycle management of control-system products.
What you'll do
- Lead and develop a global engineering organization responsible for equipment controls hardware, embedded firmware, and FPGA design across multiple product platforms.
- Own technology strategy, architecture, roadmaps, development, qualification, release, and lifecycle management for controls products and platforms.
- Drive delivery of controller platforms, circuit boards, FPGA-based logic, communication interfaces, sensor and I/O systems, and associated firmware.
- Lead new product introduction and sustaining engineering, including design reviews, verification and validation, release readiness, field deployment, and corrective actions.
- Drive system-level root-cause analysis and corrective action for complex issues spanning hardware, firmware, FPGA logic, communications, electrical interfaces, and equipment integration.
- Establish engineering practices that improve product reliability, diagnostics, serviceability, reuse, and commonality across equipment platforms.
What you'll need
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or a related technical field with 15+ years of relevant experience; or a Master’s degree with 12+ years of relevant experience.
- At least 7 years of engineering leadership experience, including leadership of managers, technical leads, or multidisciplinary engineering teams.
- Demonstrated experience leading hardware, embedded firmware, and FPGA-based product development through the full product lifecycle.
- Strong knowledge of electronic control systems, board-level design, processor and FPGA architectures, real-time embedded systems, and industrial communication interfaces.
- Experience delivering complex products through architecture, design, implementation, verification, qualification, release, sustaining, and obsolescence phases.
- Proven ability to lead system-level troubleshooting and root-cause analysis across hardware, firmware, FPGA, electrical interfaces, and equipment integration.
Nice to have
- Experience with semiconductor capital equipment, industrial automation, or other high-reliability equipment.
- Experience with FPGA design languages and development environments, such as Verilog, SystemVerilog, or VHDL.
- Experience with processor, memory, and communication interfaces, including SPI, I2C, Ethernet, PCIe, DDR, or eMMC.
- Experience with industrial control and sensor buses such as EtherCAT, Lonworks, DeviceNet, or equivalent technologies.
- Experience with PCB architecture, schematic review, component selection, hardware validation, design verification, and product qualification.
- Experience with functional safety, programmable interlocks, or safety-critical equipment control systems.
- Experience leading globally distributed engineering teams and external engineering partners.
- Experience managing product obsolescence, redesign, supplier transitions, and long-lifecycle electronic systems.
- Experience supporting customer escalations, new product introductions, field deployments, and sustaining engineering for complex equipment platforms.
Skills: equipment controls hardware, embedded firmware, FPGA design, board-level design, real-time embedded systems
This role has been open 17 days — well below the 54-day median for Semiconductor Equipment Engineering roles.
Semiconductor Equipment Engineering · Manufacturing Equipment
|
Open roles in category
3743
|
Median days open
54 d
|
Median salary
$126k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Lam Research | All employers we track in this specialty (3743 roles · 83 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 547 | 3743 |
| Open roles in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family | 776 | 9739 · 108 employers |
| Median days open | 43 d | 54 d (−11 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $126k |
Skills observed across this category: equipment controls hardware, embedded firmware, FPGA design, board-level design, real-time embedded systems
Who's hiring in this category
- Applied Materials · 612 open roles · median 54 d
- Lam Research (this employer) · 547 open roles · median 43 d
- Micron Technology · 270 open roles · median 45 d
- KLA Corporation · 252 open roles · median 67 d
- ASML · 197 open roles · median 65 d
- ASM International · 162 open roles · median 79 d
How we counted: 3743 open Semiconductor Equipment Engineering (Manufacturing Equipment) roles from 83 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 11 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family row. Figures refresh nightly.