Engineering Operations Area Manager

What we do for you We offer you the opportunity to join one of the world's premier research centers in nanotechnology at its headquarters in Leuven, Belgium. With your talent, passion and expertise, you'll become part of a team that makes the impossible possible. Together, we shape the technology that will define the society of tomorrow. We are committed to being an inclusive employer and proud of our open, multicultural, and informal working environment with ample possibilities to take initiative and show responsibility. We commit to supporting and guiding you in this process; not only with words but also with tangible actions. Through imec.academy, 'our corporate university', we actively invest in your development to further your technical and personal growth. We are aware that your valuable contribution makes imec a top player in its field. Your energy and commitment are therefore appreciated by means of a market appropriate salary with many fringe benefits.

Engineering Operations Area Manager for imec Spain (Málaga)

Our Engineering Operations team is responsible for various pilot production tools and devices, often first versions, sometimes even prototypes. Our equipment and process engineers intensively collaborate with process engineers and equipment manufacturers to identify, execute and evaluate improvement opportunities on our unique pilot production tools. These highly motivated engineers identify preventative actions and assure the correct maintenance and repair of the equipment is guaranteed in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. Our process engineers maintain the processes and develop e.g. backup processes or perform process optimizations.

What you will do

Strategic leadership: Develop strategies and business processes, in concert with your counterparts in Leuven, to optimize Fab performance and tool operations to ensure cycle time reduction, higher yield, faster learning speed, etc. Foster a safety culture by enforcing rigorous environmental, health and safety protocols to ensure the wellbeing and continuity of site operations. Manage and build relationships with suppliers and strategic partners to support and drive continuous improvement initiatives. Work closely with other departments to align on customer needs, cost reduction opportunities, process improvements, and production stability. Define and monitor resource allocations according to available budget People leadership: Inspire, lead and coach an organisation of team members & team leaders to achieve our objectives. Develop your team by focusing on career development and capability building through ongoing feedback and development planning. Ensure 24/7 operational continuity in the most effective way. Follow up of the day-to-day activities. Technical and operational leadership: Monitor and improve Quality & Process Control standards and drive root cause analysis for process reliability and maturity. Develop short- and long-term plans to grow the capability and capacity of the fab in alignment and support of the R&D business units. Convert objectives into specific, actionable goals for the group and individual team members. Ensure performance is actively monitored, evaluated, and guided. Drive improvements in Reliability, Uptime, Utilization, Preventative Maintenance, and Automation toward operational excellence in the day-to-day business of the Fab. Monitor operating budgets and implement cost-saving initiatives to optimize overhead and reduce the cost per wafer processed. Lead and direct engineering activities across both R&D and Low Volume Manufacturing (LVM) environments. Ensure high-quality execution of projects, processes, and improvements.