GRACE KIM
San Francisco,USA
Summary
Semiconductor engineering professional with 11+ years of experience across NPI, system integration, product qualification, manufacturing, and field deployment. Combines hands-on technical expertise with cross-functional leadership to drive complex products through integration, validation, troubleshooting, and production readiness. Experienced in resolving complex technical issues and supporting products through global customer deployment.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
Work History
TECHNICAL CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT (TCM) ENGINEER
Applied Materials
Santa Clara, CA
05.2026 - Current
- Configured CMP semiconductor equipment based on customer orders, collaborating with engineering, product support, product marketing, and PLM teams to incorporate the latest product updates for accurate release execution in a newly established organization.
- Developed internal operating procedures and training materials, enhancing execution consistency and earning recognition from the director and a peer-nominated award.
GLOBAL PRODUCT SUPPORT (GPS) ENGINEER
Applied Materials
Santa Clara, CA
10.2023 - 04.2026
- Led NPI qualification of a new CMP equipment platform, coordinating component- and system-level integration and validation across cross-functional engineering teams to complete the pilot ahead of schedule while maintaining progress through critical-part delays.
- Served as an electrical/motion subject matter expert (SME) for system evaluation and performance, partnering with electrical engineering to troubleshoot issues, analyze real-time motor behavior, and optimize and qualify new motor firmware and parameters ahead of product release.
- Established Best Known Method (BKM) hardware attributes for a new CMP platform across motion, fluids, system-level, and operational sequencing through on-system testing and optimization; standardized attributes were subsequently published and adopted across major global customer sites.
- Developed technical procedures and training materials adopted by global manufacturing, field service, and product teams, enabling consistent execution and knowledge transfer for the new platform.
ACCOUNT TECHNOLOGIST
Applied Materials
Santa Clara, CA
08.2022 - 09.2023
- Conducted process demonstrations for customers, communicating lab objectives, performance, risks, and technical outcomes to stakeholders, enhancing transparency and engagement.
- Led engineering teams in root-cause analysis and corrective actions for a major hardware and process issue, restoring customer confidence and earning commendation from the customer.
TECHNICAL PRODUCT SUPPORT (TPS) ENGINEER
Applied Materials
Chandler, AZ
05.2020 - 07.2022
- Deployed and qualified new CMP pilot systems at customer sites, executing installation, startup, system validation, and reliability testing against internal and customer specifications; successfully transitioned qualified systems to process teams for the next stage of customer evaluation.
- Delivered sustaining technical support across new and legacy CMP platforms, diagnosing complex manufacturing and field failures, facilitating root-cause analysis and corrective actions, and assisting field and manufacturing teams through system recovery and technical escalations.
- Acted as the lead technical point of contact for new platform CMP system integration and qualification, conducted hands-on hardware integration, module-level and system-level functional testing, and reliability validation while coordinating cross-functional engineering teams through full-system readiness.
FIELD SUPPORT ENGINEER
Applied Materials
Chandler, AZ
12.2018 - 04.2020
- Led installation, upgrade, and sustaining operations for CMP equipment, providing rapid recovery from complex system failures and aligning customer and engineering teams on execution plans; selected as shift lead.
- Earned strong site manager reviews and repeated customer recognitions through structured troubleshooting, clear escalation, and dependable execution.
GLOBAL INSTALLATION ENGINEER
Applied Materials
, Global
06.2015 - 11.2018
- Executed global equipment installation, startup, reliability testing, and customer handoff across global customer sites, including wafer-handling and robot calibration for multiple CMP equipment platforms.
- Partnered with manufacturing quality teams to identify readiness bottlenecks and implement process improvements that strengthened out-of-box quality and shortened production cycle time.
Education
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE - ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING
Hanyang University
South Korea02-2015
Skills
- NPI Program Execution
- System Integration & Qualification
- Cross-Functional Leadership
- Root Cause Analysis
- Executive Technical Communication
- Global Product Deployment
- Technical Documentation
- Manufacturing Execution
Accomplishments
- Leadership Recognition - Received leadership awards from the Process Engineering Senior Director, Design Engineering VP, Configuration Engineering Manager, and Field Support Site Manager for outstanding program execution
Customer Recognition - Commended by Intel and Samsung for effective issue resolution and technical reliability
Peer Recognition - Received multiple peer-nominated awards from cross-functional colleagues for collaboration and technical support
Affiliations
- Siemens NX | Teamcenter | SAP | Jira | Confluence | Microsoft Office
Timeline
TECHNICAL CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT (TCM) ENGINEER
Applied Materials
05.2026 - Current
GLOBAL PRODUCT SUPPORT (GPS) ENGINEER
Applied Materials
10.2023 - 04.2026
ACCOUNT TECHNOLOGIST
Applied Materials
08.2022 - 09.2023
TECHNICAL PRODUCT SUPPORT (TPS) ENGINEER
Applied Materials
05.2020 - 07.2022
FIELD SUPPORT ENGINEER
Applied Materials
12.2018 - 04.2020
GLOBAL INSTALLATION ENGINEER
Applied Materials
06.2015 - 11.2018
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE - ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING
Hanyang University