Staff Wet Etch Process Engineer

At Nokia Optical Networks, advanced photonic technologies become scalable products powering the world's communication infrastructure. Our team develops and manufactures cutting-edge Indium Phosphide (InP) photonic integrated circuits (PICs), enabling coherent optics, high-speed transceivers, tunable lasers, optical amplifiers, and next-generation networking solutions. 

As a Staff Wet Etch Process Engineer, you will develop, integrate, and optimize wet etch and wet clean processes used in the fabrication of advanced photonic devices. You will work hands-on with wet processing equipment, chemical delivery systems, consumables, and metrology systems to improve dimensional control, selectivity, surface morphology, contamination performance, yield, and manufacturability. 

Responsibilities

• Develop, qualify, and sustain wet etch and wet clean processes for InP photonic integrated circuits and related optical devices. 
• Optimize etch rate, selectivity, undercut control, surface roughness, uniformity, contamination control, and yield. 
• Support fabrication of optical structures such as waveguides, SOAs, lasers, modulators, and passive optical components. 
• Drive defect reduction and yield improvement using DOE, SPC, and statistical analysis. 
• Analyze processes from a first-principles, physics-based approach to understand and manipulate mechanisms, not just recipes 
• Provide rapid response and technical leadership for process excursions and production issues. 
• Support a 24x7 manufacturing operation through on-call/on-site support and issue escalation. 
• Demonstrates flexibility in work schedule and is willing to work swing shifts based on business requirements. 
• Drive next-generation wet chemistry formulations and process development 
• Leverage AI and advanced analytics to improve process efficiency and decision making. 

Qualifications

• MS or PhD in relevant engineering or science discipline. 
• 5+ years semiconductor, photonics, or process engineering experience. 
• Strong understanding of wet processing, surface chemistry, contamination control, DOE, and SPC. 
• Strong ownership mindset and ability to independently drive projects and deliver results. 
• Ability to prioritize and respond quickly to manufacturing challenges. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Experience with semiconductor wet benches and automated wet processing equipment. 
• Experience processing InP, GaAs, SiN, silicon photonics, or III-V technologies. 
• Passion for manufacturing excellence and continuous improvement. 
• Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced fab environment balancing production and development priorities.