Manager R&D, KTC Wet Etch

Job Title:

Manager R&D, KTC Wet Etch

Job Description:

The Role:

• Entegris is seeking an experienced R&D Manager to lead Wet Etch technology development activities at the Korea Technology Center (KTC) within Wet etch organization.

• In this role, you will provide technical and people leadership for the development of advanced wet chemical solutions for semiconductor manufacturing, including selective etch, residue removal, surface preparation, and related cleaning technologies.

• You will translate business and customer priorities into executable R&D plans, lead a team of scientists and engineers, manage resources and laboratory capabilities, and collaborate with global R&D, Applications, Product Management, Manufacturing, Quality, and customer-facing teams.

In this role you will:

Technical Leadership

• Provide technical direction and decision-making for complex Wet Etch formulation, process, and customer-specific challenges.

• Lead the development and optimization of selective etchants, cleaning chemistries, residue-removal solutions, and surface-preparation technologies for advanced semiconductor applications.

• Guide experimental strategy, DOE, data interpretation, and mechanism-based problem solving across formulation, wafer evaluation, analytical characterization, and process conditions.

• Strengthen understanding of reaction kinetics, transport, surface interactions, material compatibility, selectivity, defectivity, corrosion, and formulation robustness.

• Review and approve technical plans, reports, development pathways, and risk-mitigation actions.

Project & People Management

• Translate functional priorities into operational plans, project milestones, resource allocation, and laboratory execution for the KTC Wet Etch team.

• Manage multiple development and customer-support programs while balancing schedules, technical risk, laboratory capacity, and business priorities.

• Lead, coach, and develop scientists and engineers; set clear objectives, provide performance feedback, and build accountability and collaboration.

• Identify capability and skill gaps and support recruiting, onboarding, training, succession planning, and workforce development.

• Manage assigned operating and capital resources and recommend improvements to methods, procedures, equipment, and team practices.

Communication & Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as the KTC Wet Etch technical interface for global R&D teams, Applications, Product Management, Manufacturing, Quality, Sales, and strategic customers.

• Translate customer process requirements and device trends into development priorities, specifications, technical milestones, and differentiated value propositions.

• Communicate progress, risks, recommendations, and resource needs effectively to senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.

• Support customer visits, technical reviews, product qualification, scale-up, technology transfer, and commercialization activities

Safety, Quality & Innovation

• Promote a strong safety-first culture and ensure compliance with EHS requirements, chemical-handling practices, data integrity, quality systems, and laboratory standards.

• Drive intellectual property creation, disciplined technical documentation, knowledge sharing, and protection of proprietary know-how

Traits we believe make a strong candidate:

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related field with a minimum of 5 years of relevant individual-contributor experience; an MS or PhD is preferred. Equivalent education and experience may be considered.

• Demonstrated experience in semiconductor wet chemical development, selective etch, wet clean, residue removal, surface preparation, or related process chemistry.

• Demonstrated people leadership or direct management experience, including goal setting, coaching, performance feedback, and team capability development.

• Strong understanding of semiconductor materials, surface chemistry, chemical reaction mechanisms, process integration, and wafer-level performance.

• Proven ability to manage diverse technical programs, evaluate multiple factors, make data-driven decisions, and deliver tactical results.

• Experience with experimental design and statistical analysis using tools such as JMP, Minitab, or equivalent is preferred.

• Experience supporting customer engagements, product qualification, scale-up, technology transfer, or commercialization is strongly preferred.

• Strong collaboration, influencing, and communication skills across disciplines, sites, and global teams; effective English communication is required.

• Commitment to safety, compliance, data integrity, intellectual property protection, and continuous improvement.

• Ability to travel domestically and internationally based on business needs.

Your success will be measured by:

• Delivery of Wet Etch development and customer-support programs aligned with business priorities, agreed milestones, and resource plans.

• Technical quality, differentiation, robustness, manufacturability, and customer relevance of developed solutions.

• Effective translation of functional plans into disciplined team execution, timely decisions, and proactive risk management.

• Development, engagement, accountability, and retention of a high-performing KTC Wet Etch team.

• Effective collaboration and influence across global R&D, Applications, Product Management, Manufacturing, Quality, and customer-facing organizations.

• Visible leadership in EHS, quality, data integrity, documentation, and responsible laboratory operation.