Factory Expansion Lead

About the role

This Factory Expansion Lead role reports to the Equipment Engineering Director and leads high-impact, complex, cross-functional factory ramp and capacity expansion programs for the Farmers Branch site. The position owns integrated program planning and execution across equipment readiness, facilities preparation, process qualification, staffing, supply chain, capital tracking, and production release across semiconductor manufacturing, assembly, and test operations. Operating at an advanced individual contributor level, this role provides structure, governance, and execution discipline for ambiguous, complex manufacturing initiatives with significant business impact.

Responsibilities

• Own integrated ramp plans, milestones, dependencies, risks, resource needs, and recovery actions for critical manufacturing programs.
• Coordinate execution across Equipment Engineering, Manufacturing Operations, Process Engineering, Facilities, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, EHS, IT, and external suppliers.
• Track equipment delivery, installation readiness, facilities requirements, process qualification, staffing readiness, capacity targets, and production release milestones.
• Create concise executive updates, dashboards, scorecards, escalation summaries, and decision-support materials.
• Identify constraints early, drive cross-functional problem solving, escalate risks with recommendations, and maintain execution against business milestones.
• Support capital planning, budget tracking, investment prioritization, vendor readiness, and resource tradeoff decisions.
• Standardize ramp management tools, templates, governance processes, stage gates, and lessons learned for future programs.
• Improve visibility, predictability, and scalability of manufacturing readiness processes through data-driven planning and governance.
• Champion a culture of Ownership & Accountability, continuous improvement, and disciplined program execution aligned with FormFactor values.

Preferred Qualifications, Experience & Education

• Experience leading complex manufacturing ramp programs, factory startups, site expansions, factory transfers, new product introductions, or capacity enablement initiatives.
• Experience in semiconductor manufacturing, semiconductor assembly, electronics test, cleanroom operations, advanced manufacturing, or high-mix precision manufacturing environments.
• Advanced program management capability, including integrated scheduling, milestone management, dependency tracking, risk management, issue escalation, governance, and executive communication.
• Experience coordinating equipment selection, capital approval, vendor readiness, tool delivery, installation, facilities hookup, commissioning, qualification, and release to production.
• Ability to influence senior leaders, technical teams, suppliers, and cross-functional stakeholders without direct authority.
• Experience developing dashboards, status reports, recovery plans, scorecards, and decision frameworks using Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, Excel, Power BI, Jira, or similar systems.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to summarize complex technical and operational topics for leadership audiences.
• Preferred certifications include PMP, PgMP, Lean Six Sigma, APICS/ASCM, or other relevant program, operations, supply chain, or continuous improvement credentials.
• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, Business, or a related discipline preferred.

Skills

• Clean Rooms
• Communication
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Factory Operations
• Factory Setup
• Factory Startup
• Greenfield Development
• Greenfield Projects
• Manufacturing Startups
• Project Management
• Project Management Tools
• Semiconductor Equipment
• Semiconductor Manufacturing
• Start-Up Environment
• Teamwork

Education & Experience

Minimum of 12 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 8 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD with 5 years experience; or equivalent experience

Benefits

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Short-term and long-term disability
• Life insurance
• Flexible spending and savings accounts
• 401(k)
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
• Paid time off