Senior Failure Analysis Engineer
Originally posted 20 July 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role performs physical failure analysis (PFA) across integrated circuits, deep learning processors, and system architectures to uncover root causes affecting yield, performance, and reliability. You will work across physics, process technology, physical design, and circuit design within the Failure Analysis Lab.
What you'll do
- Perform mechanical cross-sectioning, parallel de-layering, and chemical or plasma de-processing across die, package, component, and board levels.
- Apply focused ion beam (FIB) sample preparation and analysis techniques for high-resolution electrical and physical diagnostics of IC chips.
- Develop novel characterization techniques and specialized analysis platforms tailored for complex packaging schemes and silicon architectures.
- Design and implement failure analysis (FA) workflows to improve laboratory efficiency and support reproducible root-cause determination.
- Lead failure analysis investigations to isolate the root causes of critical failures affecting product yield, performance, and long-term reliability.
- Deliver physical characterization data to support engineering teams with design of experiments (DOE) evaluations, design optimization, process node improvements, and customer FA requests.
What you'll need
- B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, or a closely related field (or equivalent experience) paired with 8+ years of relevant, hands-on industry experience.
- Deep understanding of semiconductor IC fabrication, advanced packaging/assembly processes, and failure analysis methodologies.
- Proven proficiency in precision IC device sample preparation for targeted defect localization and physical root-cause analysis.
- Hands-on expertise with optical and electron microscopy (SEM/TEM), alongside related analytical inspection techniques.
- Working knowledge of physical and electrical failure analysis across die, package, component, and board levels.
More semiconductor jobs: NVIDIA jobs · Failure analysis jobs · California jobs
This role has been open 102 days — well above the 39-day median for Failure Analysis Engineering roles.
Failure Analysis Engineering · Failure Analysis
|
Open roles in category
217
|
Median days open
39 d
|
Category median salary (all employers)
$97k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, and who else is hiring
| Metric | NVIDIA | All employers we track in this specialty (217 roles · 40 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 6 | 217 |
| Open roles in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family | 65 | 10118 · 104 employers |
| Median days open | 80 d | 39 d (+41 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $97k |
Who's hiring in this category
- Micron Technology · 43 open roles · median 51 d
- Infineon Technologies · 15 open roles · median 33 d
- Lam Research · 15 open roles · median 38 d
- Western Digital · 14 open roles · median 19 d
- GlobalFoundries · 13 open roles · median 39 d
- SanDisk · 13 open roles · median 1 d
How we counted: 217 open Failure Analysis Engineering (Failure Analysis) roles from 40 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 31 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.