Maintenance Mindset: A day on the job as a semiconductor equipment maintenance technician
Ever wonder what the daily job of a semiconductor equipment maintenance technician looks like? Well, Polar Semiconductor gives us a glimpse into the “bunny suit” crew and this rewarding career path, the technical skills needed, and even how much these technicians make.
In this blog post, you can read through a detailed description of your day as a maintenance technician at Polar, but here are some highlights:
- Before you can head to the production area as a maintenance technician, you’ll need to head to the gowning room to don your bunny suit, or full-body gown, gloves, safety glasses, and special footwear.
- The bulk of your day will be spent repairing, calibrating, and performing preventative maintenance on key equipment and systems, including troubleshooting to identify the root cause of any equipment failures.
- In addition to any known issues for that shift, every maintenance technician carries a phone, which rings if any of your machines go down or need attention.
- Don’t forget your break. The manufacturing floor always needs to have adequate maintenance coverage, but breaks and lunch are scheduled, so workers can ungown, relax, and refuel, and flexibility keeps the production floor operating.
- Periodically, work is done in hazardous environments, which require additional PPE such as a respirator. The hazardous areas are never uncomfortable, and unlike many manufacturing facilities, fabs are 24/7 temperature and humidity controlled.
What are the best skills for maintenance technicians?
Polar says its team of equipment maintenance technicians are vital to its semiconductor production goals. These technicians work on highly technical multi-million-dollar electromechanical manufacturing equipment. In partnership with the production team members and engineers, its equipment maintenance technicians monitor, sustain, and improve equipment and processes in each assigned area.
The following is some of what Polar looks for in its technicians:
- Most foundries require a minimum of an associate’s degree, or a combination of education and experience in semiconductor manufacturing. Polar hires a lot of people with equivalent military experience, such as soldiers who worked on tanks or vehicle electronics. Radio technicians and recruits from Navy ships are also good candidates.
- A lot of technicians have degrees in electromechanics, robotics, and mechanical engineering, including two-year technical school graduates.
- Semiconductor experience is a big advantage but not required. Most important is strong mechanical and electrical skills, and you can learn to work on the specific machines.
- Polar is a 24/7/365 facility, which means shift work, not necessarily 9 to 5. On a rotating two-week cycle and working 12-hour shifts, you get three days off one week and then four days off the following week. You can choose from four different shifts. You work either Sunday through Tuesday or Thursday through Saturday and every other Wednesday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. or 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
An entry-level equipment maintenance technician, coming straight from a two-year degree program can expect to make around $27 per hour, plus a $7,500 sign-on bonus, paid at six months and one year. Different shifts also make different wages. The daytime shifts get an additional 6% for working that shift, while the other night shifts have between 14 to 22% increases. Looking for overtime? It’s available every other week.
While I loved reading through Polar’s “day in the life of an equipment maintenance technician,” it’s clear that was work done in search of workers. It has other blogs outlining the different career paths in semiconducting engineering, and a strong “Why you should work for Polar” conclusion that links to all its current openings. It’s fantastic marketing work that more manufacturers should be doing to attract new workers.
Is a career in semiconductor manufacturing right for you?
Here’s some advice from equipment maintenance technicians at Polar:
- “This role is for someone who wants to be hands-on. If you’re interested in science and enjoy being up and moving, you’ll love this job. If you don’t like working with your hands, pick a different career.”
- “Training and onboarding are different for each person. We go through a week of maintenance orientation and learning the software systems. Once you’re dedicated to a trainer, it usually takes 3-6 months to get certified on your first system. Then you can be self-sufficient and operate equipment on your own.”
- “The semiconductor industry is a great career. The clean-controlled environment will challenge you mentally, but you’ll get used to wearing the bunny suits.”
What if manufacturers still can’t find enough skilled workers? Meet Dextro, the cobot that does maintenance at semiconductor manufacturing facilities. Read part one of this series on semiconductor manufacturing maintenance.
Want to learn more about the important of maintenance at fabs and the challenges the industry is facing, read part two of this series.
