Staff Machine Control Software Engineer

Job DescriptionJob Description

The Company

Halo Industries has invented a technology to replace a decades-old semiconductor material wire saw slicing process that wastes billions of dollars annually in high-value materials.

Halo’s laser-based technology eliminates this waste from the silicon carbide (SiC) substrate manufacturing process, delivering improvements in both material cost and performance, while enabling accelerated growth for a diverse set of high-growth application markets, including the electric vehicle, grid infrastructure, industrial HVAC and other high-voltage power electronics sectors.

Halo originally spun out of Stanford University in 2014, acquiring a significant series A round of VC funding in 2020 following the successful demonstration of the company’s precision material slicing equipment. Having recently closed on an $80M+ B round of VC funding, Halo is driving the fast-scale growth of the company’s team and manufacturing operations.

Halo Industries is well-funded, deeply engaged with multiple strategic customers, and staged to achieve rapid operational, revenue, and valuation growth.

The Opportunity

The evolution of Halo’s technology and equipment, growing from an R&D focus to a production manufacturing environment, has triggered the need for an experienced Senior Machine Control Software Engineer who can lead the design, development, and deployment of the company’s production line equipment control and automation strategy.

Job Description

• Lead the design and development of operator control systems for production-line mechanical and opto-mechanical semiconductor manufacturing tools
• Develop and maintain software applications for equipment communication and integration into factory systems
• Python, C# and WPF for hardware control, graphical user interfaces and data analysis
• Work with Machine Vision and camera systems
• Define control standards to be implemented uniformly across the production line
• Evaluate and select industrial controller hardware (e.g. PC, embedded microcontroller)
• Write high level device interface for robotics, motion control, lasers, and data acquisition
• Integrate custom and off-the-shelf device drivers into reliable, robust operator controllable state machines
• Perform thorough testing and debugging from the system level down to the component level
• Maintain thorough documentation and version control
• Work closely with mechanical, electrical, system and product integration engineers
• Investigate and apply ML and AI algorithms where appropriate

Requirements

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science or a related technical field with 10+ years of applicable experience
• Candidates with advanced degrees may qualify for a given position with fewer years of experience.
• Programming Experience with Python, C# and WPF for hardware control, graphical user interfaces and data analysis

Qualifications

• Knowledge of best practices for implementing high-reliability production line instrument control systems
• Knowledge of hardware communication protocols e.g. Modbus, TCP/IP, serial, ASCII, USB
• Working knowledge of servos, motors, sensors, actuators, I/O devices, and relays
• Experience with source control (preferably Git)
• Product and process development experience leading to an ability to understand the desired system behaviors
• Excellent communication skills and the proficiency to lead and work effectively within an interdisciplinary team

Bonus

• Semiconductor manufacturing experience
• Experience with Human Machine Interaction systems
• Experience with Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)

• Expertise in mechatronics/automation design (motor sizing, actuator design, sensor selection, etc.)

• Past startup experience and insights/lessons learned on effectively scaling from R&D to production
• Experience selecting and configuring databases and/or interfacing databases to factory automation

Benefits

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• Retirement Plan (401k, IRA)
• Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
• Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
• Family Leave (Maternity, Paternity)
• Free Food & Snacks
• Stock Option Plan
• Short Term & Long Term
• Base salary $170,000 - $190,000

Additional Information

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all team members feel valued and supported. We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds, including those from underrepresented communities in STEM. If you meet most of the qualifications and are excited about this opportunity, we encourage you to apply.