{"id":723616,"url":"https://alion.io/job/neurophos-seniorstaff-beol-process-integration-engineer","title":"Senior/Staff BEOL Process Integration Engineer","company":{"id":678766,"name":"Neurophos","domain":"neurophos.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/neurophos","size_band":"201-500","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Ashby","truth_index":null},"role":"Hardware","role_family":"Hardware","seniority":"staff","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Leuven, Belgium"],"countries":["BE"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":75000,"max":100000,"currency":"EUR","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":112068},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":3,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":true,"technologies":[{"name":"ALD","optional":false},{"name":"Design of Experiments","optional":false},{"name":"Photolithography","optional":false},{"name":"PVD","optional":false},{"name":"Statistical Process Control","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-07-17T21:04:31Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-06","last_verified_at":"2026-10-29T22:39:45Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":104,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":1,"flags":[],"days_open":103},"description":"About Neurophos\nThe demand for new data centers and AI compute is rapidly outpacing the planet's energy capacity. Digital solutions are hitting a power wall as we approach the physical limits of traditional silicon. Conquering this bottleneck means rethinking the fundamental architecture of inference compute. The industry's current path can't meet the need, so we're taking a different approach.\nInstead of traditional electronic circuits, we use silicon photonics and an active, programmable metasurface to perform matrix multiplications at the speed of light. Our optical cells are 10,000x smaller than traditional photonic components, enabling unprecedented density. By using photonics instead of electricity, our chips become more efficient as they scale. This architecture will deliver up to 100 times the energy efficiency of existing solutions while significantly improving performance for large-scale AI inference.\nWe’ve assembled a world-class team of industry veterans and recently raised a $110M Series A led by Gates Frontier. Participants include M12 (Microsoft’s Venture Fund), Carbon Direct Capital, Aramco Ventures, Bosch Ventures, Tectonic Ventures, Space Capital, and others.\nJoin us and shape the future of computing!\nPosition Overview\nNeurophos is seeking a Senior BEOL (Back-End-Of-Line) Process Integration Engineer to join our chip manufacturing team embedded at our foundry partner in Belgium. This role sits at the critical interface between Neurophos’s design intent and foundry execution: you will own BEOL process integration for our advanced photonic chip, ensure that all process steps are qualified and operating within specification, and drive continuous improvement in yield, reliability, and performance. You will work directly with the foundry process integration team, engaging daily with foundry process engineers, metrology teams, and the Neurophos engineering team to ensure our product meets its ambitious specifications.\nLocation\nLeuven, Belgium (on-site at IMEC). Full-time position with an American company.\nKey Responsibilities\nProcess Integration & Development\nOwn the BEOL process integration flow for Neurophos’s photonic chip, covering metallization, dielectric deposition, CMP, lithography, etch, and more.\n\nDrive process development and process transfer activities between development and high-volume manufacturing environments.\n\nDefine and maintain process specifications and control limits (SPC) for all critical BEOL process steps; lead the foundry to consistently operate within these limits.\n\nIdentify process/layout interactions and integration risks across the full BEOL stack; develop mitigation strategies and implement process improvements and design rules.\n\nReview and approve GDS layout for process compatibility, flagging DRC/DFM issues and recommending design modifications.\n\nUnderstand product reliability mechanisms and failure modes; relate reliability risks to specific BEOL process steps and drive targeted process improvements to enhance device reliability and long-term performance.\n\nApply structured problem-solving methodologies and systematic root cause analysis to process integration challenges; develop and execute corrective action plans that address root causes and prevent recurrence.\n\nDesign and execute Design of Experiments (DOE) in the fab to support process development, continuous improvement, and process qualification activities; analyze results to define optimal process windows and improve process robustness.\n\nFault Isolation & Failure Analysis\nLead fault isolation (FI) efforts from electrical test data, inline metrology, and yield excursion data; define and execute structured debug plans.\n\nLead physical failure analysis (PFA) activities including cross-sectioning, SEM/TEM analysis, EDX, and other characterization techniques in coordination with the foundry and external labs.\n\nCorrelate process excursions to electrical and optical performance impacts; communicate root cause and corrective actions clearly to internal and external stakeholders (8D).\n\nEstablish and maintain a systematic excursion management process with the foundry to minimize cycle time from detection to resolution.\n\nSpecification Management & Continuous Improvement\nDefine and own BEOL process specification documents, test structure requirements, and acceptance criteria for process changes or process transfer to HVM.\n\nMonitor process and product data trends; proactively identify opportunities to tighten spec limits and improve process robustness.\n\nDrive continuous improvement projects to enhance yield, reduce cycle time, and reduce costs in partnership with the foundry process team.\n\nMaintain engineering documentation including process travelers, work instructions, and qualification reports.\n\nDefine and implement a Known Good Die (KGD) strategy, establishing electrical and optical test criteria, wafer-level screening flows, and acceptance standards to ensure only fully qualified dies advance to packaging and system integration.\n\nCross-Functional Collaboration\nServe as the primary Neurophos technical liaison with the foundry BEOL process engineering team on a day-to-day basis.\n\nCollaborate closely with Neurophos device physics, design, and product engineering teams to translate process constraints into design guidelines and vice versa.\n\nRepresent Neurophos in technical reviews, process qualification reviews, and change control meetings at the foundry.\n\nCommunicate process status, risks, and improvement roadmaps to Neurophos engineering leadership clearly and promptly.\n\nQualifications\nEducation in Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related discipline.\n\n3+ years of experience in one or more of the following roles: BEOL or FEOL process integration engineer, FAB device engineer, product engineer, or process engineer in a semiconductor foundry or IDM environment.\n\nHands-on familiarity with core BEOL and FEOL unit process steps including optical lithography, dry and wet etch, thin film deposition (CVD, PVD, ALD), CMP, and metallization (Cu, W, Al).\n\nDemonstrated ability to read and interpret GDS/GDSII layout files; ability to identify process-relevant design features and communicate DFM feedback to design teams.\n\nProven experience leading fault isolation and failure analysis from electrical test data through to physical root cause, with experience using SEM, FIB, TEM, EDX, or equivalent techniques.\n\nExperience defining and owning process specification limits and SPC control strategies; track record of driving a foundry to achieve and maintain spec compliance.\n\nExperience in process development or process transfer between development and manufacturing environments is a strong plus.\n\nFamiliarity with photonic or optoelectronic device processing is a plus but not required.\n\nStrong analytical and problem-solving skills; comfortable working with large datasets and statistical process control tools.\n\nExcellent written and verbal communication skills in English; ability to work effectively in a multicultural environment.\n\nWillingness to work on-site at the foundry location in Belgium on a full-time basis.\n\nWhat We Offer\nThis is an opportunity to play a pivotal role in an innovative startup redefining the future of AI hardware. Work on game-changing technology at the intersection of photonics and AI as part of a collaborative, brilliant team. You’ll contribute to a platform that redefines computational performance and accelerates the future of artificial intelligence. Come help us bring this transformative technology to the world.\nBenefits\nJoin a team that invests in your future and your well-being. At Neurophos, we offer:\n100% coverage of base health plan premiums for you and your dependents, plus HSA contributions.\n\nUnlimited PTO. No rigid vacation banks, just a focus on delivery.\n\n401(k) matching and stock option opportunities to ensure our success is your success.\n\nFull suite of voluntary benefits, including Dental, Vision, Life, Hospital, Critical Illness, and Accident insurance.\n\nPersonalized Benefits. Choose the plans that fit your life and take the cash back for those that don’t.","description_format":"text","description_chars":8172,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":3,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[{"language":"English","level":"All levels","optional":false}]},"benefits":["Unlimited PTO"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"Belgium","iso":"BE","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Processors, MCUs & AI Chips","AI Chips & Accelerators"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-11T07:44:24Z"},{"event":"close","at":"2026-09-15T03:47:51Z"},{"event":"reopen","at":"2026-10-06T01:26:32Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":19,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.665,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":103,"expected_fill_days":43,"reasons":["conf:0","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-10-29T05:49:05Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":112068,"is_top_pay":false},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/neurophos-seniorstaff-beol-process-integration-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/neurophos-seniorstaff-beol-process-integration-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-30T02:37:19Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":3481,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-31T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":678766},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=678766"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fneurophos-seniorstaff-beol-process-integration-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fneurophos-seniorstaff-beol-process-integration-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fneurophos-seniorstaff-beol-process-integration-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/neurophos-seniorstaff-beol-process-integration-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fneurophos-seniorstaff-beol-process-integration-engineer"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":723616}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"neurophos.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":723616},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. 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