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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Material Technology Director - **Company:** Samsung - **Location:** Austin, TX, United States - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** $217,000.0 - $281,500.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Statistical Process Control (SPC), Performance Monitor - **Published:** October 7, 2026 - **Apply:** https://sec.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/Samsung_Careers/job/12100-Samsung-Blvd-Austin-TX-USA/Material-Technology-Director_R121018 ## About the Role * Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related technical discipline. * 15+ years of experience in semiconductor manufacturing, including significant experience in supplier quality, materials engineering, process engineering, or related technical functions. * 10+ years of progressive leadership experience, including responsibility for technical teams, managers, or organizations. * Demonstrated experience with supplier qualification and development, material specifications, supplier change management, and non-conforming material disposition in a high-volume manufacturing environment. * Strong knowledge of SPC, process capability, root cause analysis, and structured problem-solving methodologies. * Experience managing senior-level supplier relationships and resolving complex quality, technical, and supply issues. * Demonstrated ability to communicate technical risk, business impact, and recommendations to executive leadership., * Master's degree or Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related technical discipline. * Experience with advanced-node semiconductor manufacturing, greenfield Fab startup, major expansion, or technology transfer. * Direct experience with semiconductor raw materials and the analytical methods used for trace contamination and high-purity material characterization. * Experience leading global supplier qualification and audit programs; lead auditor certification or equivalent. * Working knowledge of ISO 9001, IATF 16949, or comparable quality management systems. ## Description Samsung Austin Semiconductor is seeking a Director of Material Technology to lead the site's supplier and raw material quality organization supporting high-volume semiconductor manufacturing. The Director is the site-level authority for raw material quality and supplier technical performance across a broad portfolio of direct materials, including bulk and specialty gases, bulk and specialty chemicals, slurries, pads, precursors, targets, wafers, and photo-related materials. This leader directs a multidisciplinary organization of engineers and technicians and works closely with Manufacturing, Process Engineering, Purchasing, Logistics, Quality, the onsite analytical laboratory, Samsung Korea, and a global supplier base. The role protects manufacturing from material-related quality risk while enabling new technology introduction, supply-chain resilience, localization, and cost reduction. Role and Responsibilities Here's What You'll Be Responsible For: Material Quality Strategy & Governance * Establish and execute the site strategy for raw material and supplier quality supporting current and future semiconductor technologies. * Own the governance framework, policies, decision rights, and escalation pathways for qualification, specifications, supplier change control, incoming quality, and material disposition. * Develop long-term technical roadmaps aligned with future technology nodes, capacity expansion, and supply-chain strategy. * Identify emerging material and supplier risks and ensure mitigation plans are in place before manufacturing impact. Supplier Qualification, Performance & Development * Direct the end-to-end qualification strategy for new materials, new suppliers, alternate sources, and new supplier manufacturing locations. * Oversee supplier lifecycle management from qualification through performance monitoring, development, requalification, escalation, and phase-out. * Establish risk-based supplier segmentation to set surveillance, audit, and development requirements. * Establish supplier scorecards and KPIs, and lead executive quality reviews for strategic or underperforming suppliers. * Develop supplier capability roadmaps and improvement plans to reduce material variability and meet future technology requirements. * Lead quality-matching activities to ensure consistent material performance across supplier manufacturing locations and alignment with Samsung Korea. Specifications & Supplier Change Management * Own raw material specifications, critical quality attributes, acceptance criteria, sampling requirements, and test methods, ensuring they evolve with process sensitivity and technology-node requirements. * Direct technical evaluation of supplier Certificates of Analysis and define requirements for supplier statistical control of critical parameters. * Own governance of supplier changes, including process, raw material, site, equipment, packaging, and formulation changes, and ensure PCNs are reviewed for manufacturing and reliability risk. * Establish risk-based qualification requirements for supplier changes and approve or delegate approval authority accordingly. Non-Conforming Material & Disposition Authority * Establish and maintain the site process for containment, evaluation, and disposition of non-conforming raw materials. * Serve as senior escalation authority for high-risk decisions involving hold, release, use-as-is, deviation, return, replacement, or scrap. * Ensure disposition decisions weigh manufacturing risk, process sensitivity, inventory position, and supply continuity, with appropriate traceability and documentation. Supplier Audit Program * Direct the global audit and surveillance program for critical raw material suppliers, with audit strategy based on material criticality, performance, and business risk. * Ensure assessments cover quality systems, manufacturing and contamination controls, change management, traceability, SPC, and business continuity against ISO 9001, IATF 16949, and Samsung requirements. * Determine supplier qualification status based on audit findings and ensure corrective actions are verified for effectiveness. Incoming Material Quality & Excursion Prevention * Establish the strategy for incoming material verification based on material criticality, supplier capability, historical performance, and process sensitivity. * Partner with the onsite analytical laboratory on testing requirements, sampling strategies, and method development capable of detecting contamination at levels appropriate for advanced semiconductor manufacturing. * Establish statistical monitoring of supplier CoA data, incoming test results, and material trends, with defined escalation and containment thresholds, to identify drift before it impacts manufacturing. * Ensure correlation between supplier data, onsite laboratory results, and manufacturing performance, and use this data to drive supplier management decisions. Root Cause Analysis & Corrective Action * Provide executive oversight for significant material-related excursions and supplier quality events. * Ensure rigorous root cause analysis using structured methodologies such as 8D, 5-Why, fishbone, and fault-tree analysis. * Drive containment, corrective and preventive action, and verification of effectiveness, ensuring supplier actions address systemic causes. * Maintain CAPA governance and deploy lessons learned across materials, suppliers, and manufacturing organizations. Supply Continuity & Cost Optimization * Identify single-source, geographic, capacity, logistics, and supplier business-continuity risks, and establish contingency strategies for critical materials. * Direct qualification of alternate materials, suppliers, manufacturing locations, and bridge specifications to reduce supply risk. * Partner with Purchasing and Logistics to manage material risk during shortages and supply-chain disruptions. * Partner with Purchasing on sourcing strategies, supplier localization, and technical cost reduction, ensuring cost initiatives undergo appropriate qualification and risk evaluation. New Technology Introduction & Fab Readiness * Lead raw material readiness for new technologies, product introductions, capacity expansions, and Fab startup activities. * Ensure new material requirements are identified early enough to support technology qualification schedules. * Ensure supplier capacity, quality systems, analytical capability, packaging, transportation, and import requirements are ready ahead of production ramp. * Support technology transfer and material matching between Samsung manufacturing operations. Organizational Leadership & Cross-Functional Partnership * Lead a multidisciplinary organization of engineers and technicians, establishing organizational structure, staffing strategy, KPIs, and succession plans. * Recruit, develop, and retain technical talent; coach managers and technical experts and build training programs that strengthen organizational capability. * Promote a culture of ownership, technical rigor, continuous improvement, and disciplined decision-making. * Represent Material Technology in site-level discussions and provide senior leadership with clear assessments of material quality, supplier risk, and supply continuity. * Serve as the senior technical interface with strategic suppliers and represent the site with Samsung Korea on material quality and technology matters. * Resolve cross-functional issues where material quality, manufacturing priorities, supply constraints, and commercial considerations intersect.