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Electron Microscopy Expert Consultant
Natural leader in chemical and materials characterization engineering with 15+ years of experience characterizing and developing material systems such as alloys, ceramics, semiconductor packages, printed circuit boards, and composites. 10+ years’ experience leading failure analysis, sustaining engineering, and continuous product development projects. Broad fundamental understanding of physics and mathematics. Expert in microelectronic corrosion mechanisms, product failure analysis, product design improvements, and chemical/materials characterization techniques. Strong background in quality & reliability engineering, design of experiments, and Six Sigma statistical analysis.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
September 2020 - Present
Western Digital Corporation– Sr. Manager, Analytical Characterization Engineering
San Jose, CA
● Responsible for management of twelve laboratory technicians & engineers
● Leader in lab customer service and project prioritization, turn-around time
● Distillation of raw data from various techniques to form comprehensive FA or development deliverables
December 2019 – September 2020
Western Digital Corporation – Technologist, Materials Science
San Jose, CA
● Promotion from principal engineer based on technical excellence.
● Subject matter expert in microelectronic materials and failure analysis
● Analytical characterization internal consultant and development project lead
March 2017 – December 2019
Western Digital Corporation – Principal Development Engineer, Materials Science
San Jose, CA
● Materials development expert specializing in materials science research and development projects. Resident metal/alloy corrosion expert.
● Electroplated alloy development for magnetic shielding technology (NiFe).
●Lead failure analysis investigations and materials characterization projects, directing workflow to appropriate characterization techniques for project and issue resolution.
●Responsible for all electron microprobe (EPMA) laboratory compositional measurements of metals (i.e. stainless steels, copper, cobalt, chromium, nickel, aluminum, and tin alloys) and ceramics (i.e. alumina, AlTiC, barium titinate) as the lead EPMA engineer.
● Perform mathematical modelling of engineering systems for driving development and failure analyses.
● Perform scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS)
October 2012 – March 2017
Western Digital Corporation – Principal Engineer, Electronic Materials Design
Irvine, CA
● Led cross functional teams to improve process and product design understanding. Responsible for effective communication of analytical results across all different fields of engineering.
● Principal investigator in the study of corrosion performance of copper, silver platings, and nickel-phosphorous immersion gold platings in corrosive environments – resulted in product improvements across all future product lines.
● Implemented design for reliability improvements to product lines that resulted in return rate reduction by up to 50% and a cost savings of $2 million per year.
●Used knowledge of fundamental materials properties to predict and resolve thermomechanical issues in both packages and assembly level devices - increased product reliability by increasing lifetime by 100%.
● Performed root cause analysis (RCA) of development devices and field returns.
●Performed statistical analysis (Minitab) of laboratory and reliability data including hypothesis testing, DOE, regression analysis, etc.
● Design of experiments for unique failure issues, including product R&D for failure mitigation
● Led group of engineers in the evaluation and purchase of major laboratory equipment resulting in $6 million reduction in return product return costs over 5 years.
● Performed microstructural preparation and characterization of semiconductor devices using SEM/EDS, SEM/FIB, and CSAM.
● Performed failure analysis of multi-layered structures, including printed circuit boards, integrated circuit die, packages, and magnetic recording media.
December 2011 – October 2012
Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division – Research Scientist, Materials Engineer
China Lake, CA
● Research scientist specializing in high-temperature ceramics and metal alloys (nickel-based super alloys)
● Performed ceramic synthesis, fabrication and microstructural characterization using SEM/EDS and SEM/FIB
● Failure analysis of multi-layered structures, including mechanics of aerospace polymer-matrix composites (PMCs) and thin film failure ($25k budget)
● Developed and composed research funding proposals for a total of a $100k project budget
SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS
- Technical Analysis & Communication
- Thought leadership and critical data analysis
- Skilled at peer-to-peer technical communication with business partners and customers
- Technical oral presentation and writing expert
OTHER SKILLS & ACHIEVEMENTS
● Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholar, 2010 – 2011
● President & Cofounder, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Graduate Student Association, 2006 – 2010
● University of California Graduate Fellow, 2006 – 2007
● Chemistry Honors Thesis, University of Redlands, 2006
● University of Redlands Stauffer Science Center Summer Research Fellow, 2004 & 2005
● American Chemical Society Analytical Chemistry Award Nominee, University of Redlands, 2005
● United Food and Commercial Workers Unions and Food Employers Ancillary Benefit Fund Scholarship, 2002 & 2003
● University of Redlands Presidential Scholarship, 2002 – 2006
● National Soccer Coaches Association of America Scholar All-American, 2001
Laboratory Instrumentation
● Electron Probe Micro Analysis (EPMA) expert
● Laser safety, optical alignment and design, interferometry, and laser Raman spectroscopy, spectrometer construction
● Extensive experience performing materials characterization and FA using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), focused-ion beam (FIB), wavelength dispersive spectroscopy (WDS), and X- ray techniques (radiography and diffraction) to analyze failure of multi-layered structures including ceramic-metal interfaces, glass fiber – polymer matrix composites, and microelectronic materials
● Scanning acoustic microscopy (CSAM) for analysis of semiconductor packages and other components
● Optical microscopy and laser/confocal profilometry
●Electronics and hardware laboratory equipment repair and troubleshooting, control systems and hardware/software interfaces
● Experience with clean room best-practices (ISO 4 standard) and ISO 9000 lab quality standards
●Ability to analyze chemical characterization data from FTIR, UV-Vis techniques, NMR, atomic absorption, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry (GC/MS), cyclic voltammetry
Software
● Minitab green-belt certification in statistical data analysis
● Proficient in Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
● Expert in Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Power Point
● Significant experience with National Instruments hardware and LabVIEW® programming environment, MATLAB®, some experience with C++ programming language
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES
● Member, IPC 3-11g Committee on Semiconductor Corrosion Test Standards, 2015-2017.
● Session Chair of Surface Protection for Enhanced Materials Performance: Alternate Coating Methods, Materials Science and Technology Conference 2009, Oct. 2009.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
July 2015 – July 2017
Vanguard University - Adjunct Professor, Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Costa Mesa, CA
• General Physics, Mathematics
January 2008 – March 2010
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Introduction to Materials Science, University of California, Irvine Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Irvine, California
- Responsible for lecturing and running discussion sessions of up to 50 students
- Held weekly office hours, meeting with, mentoring, and tutoring students
- Assisted professor in proctoring and grading exams and kept records of homework and participation grades
- Responsible for the bulk of the class communication between students and professor/TAs
EDUCATION
Ph.D.: Materials Science & Engineering
University of California, Irvine – Irvine, CA
Master of Science: Materials Science & Engineering
University of California, Irvine – Irvine, CA
Bachelor of Science: Chemistry
University of Redlands – Redlands, CA