TSMC is hiring for its US wafer fab: high school education required

In May 2020, TSMC, the leading foundry, announced that it would invest $12 billion to build a 5nm advanced process wafer fab in Arizona, the United States. The first phase of production capacity can reach 20,000 wafers per month, and mass production is expected to begin in 2024. Last year, the construction of the wafer fab had already started. However, the lack of local semiconductor talent has also brought great challenges to TSMC.

Recently, TSMC founder Morris Chang gave a speech at the Brookings Institution, a US think tank, and said that the cost of building a factory in the United States for TSMC has increased by 50% compared to Taiwan, and that building a factory in the United States also faces the problem of a shortage of semiconductor manufacturing talent.

The key reason is that the U.S. manufacturing industry has been shrinking in recent years, especially the semiconductor manufacturing talent shortage. In addition, there are very few local technicians willing to work overtime and in shifts. This is a major problem for TSMC's U.S. wafer factory, which needs to recruit thousands of employees.

In response to this, TSMC started recruiting in the United States last year. According to previous news, the first batch of engineers recruited locally have come to TSMC Tainan Fab 18 for relevant training. The latest news shows that TSMC is currently recruiting relevant technicians in Taiwan who can be stationed in the wafer factory in Arizona, USA.

According to reports, the recruitment qualifications require that applicants have a high school diploma or above, and experience in the semiconductor industry is preferred, but no experience is also acceptable. However, since the job must be conducted in an all-English environment, the TOEIC score must be above 800 (out of a total of 990 points).

Related reports emphasize that the work of TSMC's operators stationed in Arizona wafer factories includes machine operation, product inspection, equipment abnormalities, etc. After being admitted, they must first work in TSMC's factories in Hsinchu Science Park, Central Science Park, or Southern Science Park, and then be stationed in Arizona wafer factories in the United States before the end of December to meet the company's needs. The time is at least 2 years. For the technicians' time in Arizona, the company will provide accommodation, local and return transportation subsidies.