Manufacturing Engineer Performance Improvement
Resume:
Stephen D. Coomer
Harrisburg, AR 72432
Ph: 480-***-****
*******@*****.***
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-coomer-62951a7a/
Please allow me to introduce myself…
I am a multi-patented electrical / mechanical / manufacturing engineer with a proven track record in cost reduction strategies and designs for optimizing productivity. My successes in fixturing, tooling, and workflow optimization include labor reductions achieving greater than 40% cost reductions in multiple programs. The repeatability and part consistency achieved from my tooling and assembly procedure development have resulted in minimal parts rejection or failures attributable to workmanship. My role as an engineer on a materials review board (MRB) has required me to meet with numerous suppliers at our facilities as well as theirs to develop RCCA for non-conforming materials, performance improvement plans for parts quality, and design enhancements for DFM considerations.
My 18 U.S. Patents as the Principal Inventor cover various automation challenges within the semiconductor and solar cell manufacturing industries. These range from the manipulation of substrates in vacuum chambers, gas distribution and film uniformity in high-temperature (1200-1600oC.) Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) reactors, and methods for volume-matching gas flows in fluid-coupled multi-chamber deposition systems for CVD and Atomic Layer Deposition chambers.
My industrial logistics experience includes:
overhead and floor conveyor systems design and installation
overhead monorail pick-and-place SCARA robot systems using vision systems for part identification
LED and Laser-scanning machine safety systems spec and integration
Work cell development to supplement workflow layouts
MAGLEV closed-loop multi-cell production centers cycling over 600 pph using PLC’s and Keyence vision systems
Engineering support of manual and PLC-controlled machinery in production lines running 6068 uph
Drag-link conveyor systems for powdered-metal transport in a 7-furnace, 28-press sintering operation
Scope-of-Work development for PLC-based automated parts processing systems discretely identifying and sorting 168 unique part numbers with similar features in multiple diameters
Having managed a multi-shift staff of 30 engineers and technicians, I am fully acquainted with the issues that revolve around different personalities working together. My supervisory and managerial training through the American Management Association allowed me to be prepared to meet those challenges and excel in guiding a multi-million-dollar equipment manufacturing operation as my team met all of our corporate goals for labor, book-to-build cycle, and critical quality Key Performance Indicators. In this capacity, I was responsible for developing employees’ skills, performing performance reviews, recommending salary adjustments, and administering disciplinary actions with the coordination of the HR department.
I have been responsible for capital equipment placement in limited footprint environments. This experience has drawn on my skills gained as a Millwright performing construction rigging and equipment placement in multi-story facilities. I am familiar with the OSHA safety requirements for confined space work as well as proper electrical and welding safety practices to prevent flash injuries, shock injuries, and other stored energy safeguarding techniques.
Regards,
Steve
Stephen Dale Coomer
704 S. Gould St.
Harrisburg AR 72432
*******@*****.***
Summary: A multi-patented Manufacturing / Mechanical Engineer with supervisory / management experience as well
as extensive hands-on design experience in wafer manipulation and metals sputtering systems within
the semiconductor and solar cell industries. Patented design work includes vacuum process chambers for
PVD, IPVD, CVD, PECVD, ALD, and RF etching chambers in addition to robotic wafer manipulators.
Accomplishments:
Developed a parts queuing system reducing cycle times by 32% prior to the advent of “Lean Manufacturing and JIT Inventory Management” by implementing the principles behind “Critical Path Manufacturing”.
Implemented a program for training subcontractors on proper configuration builds, reducing manufacturing rework by 50% and shortening ‘Book-to-build’ cycles by 40%.
Developed and implemented a labor reduction program resulting in $35k annual savings.
Accomplished design improvements in 2012 stopping a $249,000 annual loss over the past 19 years.
Executed the F/A, redesign, test plan, pilot release, procedure draft, and ECO/ECC coordination between all disciplines, leading to $705,000 savings in warranty claims with an unprecedented 21-day improvement cycle.
Published in Journal of the American Vacuum Society (5/94) for work in experimentation with and development of industry-transforming methods for achieving Ultra-high Vacuum (UHV (pressures < 1x10-8 Torr)) performance from aluminum process chamber designs. In conjunction with this work, the US ban of Trichloroethane as a cleaning solvent became the impetus for the development of non-CFC methods pioneered by the work performed while at Materials Research Corporation.
Resolved assembly problems and supplier/contractor information requests as a part of CCB/ECO review board.
Developed RCCA and disposition of discrepant materials as part of the Materials Review Board.
Utilized Design of Experiments when developing supporting design changes or new design introductions to develop data that would be presented in management review of design changes and system impact.
Developed FMEA and PFMEA checklists and timelines for each project, employing SPC methods including the capture of CPK and PPK data for the Quality Engineering departmental review.
Maintained prototype PVD & CVD Systems, Neslab, Lytron, and Thermotron Chillers, OSAKA, CTI Cryogenics, Varian, and BOC Edwards turbo-molecular, cryogenic, helical groove, rotary-vane, and blower-augmented dry pumps up to 1500CFM capacity, evaluating various configurations for maintenance and production-worthiness prior to developing as production systems.
Employment:
AUG 2023- MAR 2025 Manufacturing Proc Eng, Tenneco / Dr1v (Monroe), Paragould, AR. PLANT CLOSURE
Responsible for supporting stamping / pressing / forming operations for the production of shock
absorbers, struts, and suspension dampers at a rate of 40,000+ units per day. Focus is on tooling
needs and improvements to produce in-spec parts and increase tooling life. My efforts stopped a
monthly bleed of $58,775 due to tooling issues. Recently accomplished a $1.2M annual cost savings by eliminating in-house powder-blending operations, shifting that back to the vendor.
AUG 2022- AUG 2023 Mechanical Engineer / Product Engineer, Colson Group, Jonesboro, AR.
Engineer responsible for supporting customers with innovative solutions to their material handling
needs, including new caster design and test development as pre-production development.
Developed a patentable design for a new caster suspension system to meet customer needs.
MAR 2021- MAR 2022 Mechanical Design (Pneumatics systems) Engineer, Auer Precision Automation, Mesa, AZ.
MAR 2020-MAR 2021 Senior Design Engineer, Aerospace and Crew Systems
Safe, Inc., Tempe, AZ
Accomplished a 75% cost reduction for a NAVY flight safety systems program.
Designs included NASA-Artemis payload pallet safety system, UH-60R/S seat improvements.
MAR 2018-MAR 2020 Mechanical / Manufacturing Process Engineer
WACOM Quartz, Phoenix, AZ
Responsible for achieving a 32x labor reduction through tooling fixture and workflow design.
Stephen Dale Coomer
Page 2 of 4
JAN 2012-JAN 2018 Sr. Product Support ENG I / Mechanical Engineer
ASM America, Phoenix, AZ
Liaison between FSE’s and Engineering to resolve design issues for customer-critical
processes and printed circuit board development issues. Implemented design solutions through coordination with customer EIC’s and Project Managers.
Worldwide customer site training of FSE’s in Vacuum Theory and leak-checking technique.
NOV 11-JAN 12 Manufacturing/Mech. Engineer/Electrical Engineer
ACME Aerospace, Tempe, AZ
Supporting Engineer for Production Facility, improving flow lines and DFM projects to improve product yield and throughput. Established roadmap for improvement of manufacturing processes and cost reductions.
NOV 08-OCT 11 Manufacturing/Mech. Engineer/Electrical Engineer, Eng. Mgr.
MGI Electronics, LLC.
New Product Design & Development, Sustaining Engineering (Electrical and Mechanical)
Established BoM control within MRP system for 100% product model-release accuracy.
MAY 08- NOV 08: Engineering Consultant, Semicap Equipment Engineer/Technician.
Self-employed pending suitable career opportunity development.
NOV 03-MAY-08: Manufacturing Engineer: Program Manager, OVISO (formerly ESCO) Mfg, Tempe AZ.
Sustaining Engineer for Semicap OEM production programs (70% of site business).
Managed program costs, BOM’s, WIP Management, ECO activity, and customer satisfaction.
Performed internal Process audits for compliance to various Quality Standards including
NADCAP, AS-9100, and various ISO sections.
MAR 02-NOV 03: Vacuum Systems Technician, BOC Edwards, Tempe Service Hub, Tempe, AZ.
Highly involved in Kaizen and 5-S Lean Manufacturing programs to refine FMEA and RCCA
JAN 90- MAR 02: Tokyo Electron Arizona(TAZ) Gilbert, AZ. (formerly Materials Research Corp., Orangeburg, NY) Facility sold-off and closed.
Positions Held
JUN 98- MAR02 Manufacturing (Mechanical) Engineer, Eclipse Operations, Sustaining Engineering, TAZ.-
SEP 94-JUN 98 Manufacturing Manager / Manufacturing Engineer, CVD Division-
MAR 94-SEP 94 Engineering Technician, CVD Division, Phoenix AZ-internal transfer to AZ from NY.
JAN 90-MAR 94 Engineering Technician, Advanced Technologies Group- Orangeburg, NY
MAY 86-JAN 90: Engineer, Digital Switching Systems, Northern Telecom, Northeast District, Tarrytown, NY. DMS 10/100/200/DMS-CORE Central Office systems.
Responsible for remote and local support of installed systems including core CPU and Memory,
line access card units and modules, component-level repair, trace repairs on layered substrate
PCB’s, updating of Central Office (C.O.) documentation and change history, custody paperwork,
and system translations (software) updates via live code entry.
Education:
BA/German Studies University of Louisville, Louisville, KY,
AAS/ Electronics Engineering RETS Electronics Institute, Louisville, KY
AAS/ Mech / Mfg Engineering Technology CAD Institute, Phoenix, AZ
Millwright Apprenticeship Program, Journeyman Millwright UBC&J Local 2209, Louisville, KY
ProE Proficiency/Upgrade Training TriStar Corp, Phoenix
SolidWorks Proficiency Training, Rel 7.0-2011 DDI, Phoenix, AZ
Various AVS and BOC short courses on vacuum, leak detection, and mass spectrometry.
Various American Management Association supervisory / management skills courses.
SONY, TEL, and BOC courses on KAIZEN Team Leadership and support, SPC, and TQM.
Stephen Dale Coomer
Addendum 1
4 patents awarded as the principal inventor while at ASM. Fifth patent submitted prior to 2018 lay-off.
First patent (US 2017/0092531A1) solves multi-chamber cluster-tool module process matching for pressure and pumping speeds. Awarded 1 MAY 2018. A second patent (10312129) was awarded on this work on 4 JUN 2019.
Third and fourth patent (US20170260649A1) accomplishes wafer film uniformity < 1% across surface area through phased gas distribution. This patent was approved on 20 AUG 2019 for award before the end of the year.
Final patent resolved robot end effector pad positional integrity failure.
15 patents awarded between 2000-2019 as the principal inventor for my conceptual and design guidance:
- US 6612590 B2: “Apparatus and Methods for Manipulating (severely warped) Semiconductor Wafers”
This patent solved wafer handling problems for 150mm wafers that curled due to film tension and excessive
backside post-process grinding. The wafers required a method for returning them to a flat shape for continued
processing through machinery. My design accomplished this with no attributable wafer breakage reported.
This patent is also awarded separately internationally through the EU and China.
- US 6692219 B2: “Reduced Edge Contact Wafer Handling System and Method of Retrofitting and Using Same”
This patent solved system retrofit issues to allow the designs of the first patent to be retrofit on equipment manufactured by various companies without divulging any IP.
- US 6869266 B2: “Apparatus and Methods for Manipulating Semiconductor Wafers”
This patent made the production of the Intel 486 processor possible by creating the technology needed to secure
the wafer for backside film deposition without impacting the device-side patterns.
- EP 1340246 A2: “sub-2mm Edge exclusion Wafer Handling System and Methods”
This patent was an enhancement of US 6692219 B2 as the edge exclusion zones on wafers became decreased.
The industry continued to reduce the edge area in an effort to improve per-wafer-yield prior to the 300mm size.
- EP 1362363 B1: “Apparatus for Manipulating Semiconductor Wafers”
This patent was a continuation of prior work and addressed wafer manipulation for various sizes through 300mm and was awarded separately through the EU.
2 provisional patents filed in 2011 as the principal inventor for the development of fully-automated wafer-handling systems to be used in the solar cell production industry. The designs developed raised the industry standard of ‘wafers per hour’ (wph) throughput from 5,000 wph to 10,000 wph in the solar wafer industry.
The first of these provisional patents were for the overall system I designed to automatically load and unload wafers from a 4-tube horizontal furnace. The system required a single attendant to place plastic cassettes of wafers on the system and then remove the empty cassettes. The previous method required multiple operators to manually remove wafers from the cassettes and load them into the quartz furnace boats while using vacuum wafer tweezers.
The second provisional patent was for the articulating conveyor system I designed. This system was the key element in the precise movement and queuing of quartz wafer carriers (boats) being staged for loading into the horizontal furnace tubes. The conveyor utilized Teflon-coated stainless steel perforated belts with high-temperature cleats attached to isolate the quartz carriers. The carriers typically exited the furnace at 400-500oC.
Software Package Proficiencies: Relevant Experience:
PTC Pro-Engineer / Wildfire 4 6 years, including use through JAN 2018
SolidWorks Premier Edition 18 years, through Release 2021, personal license
Autodesk Autocad 30 years, through Release 2014, personal license
Autodesk Inventor 10 years, Release 4.0 thru 9.0, personal license
Autodesk Mechanical Desktop 10 years, through Release 5.0, personal license
Unigraphics 2 years while evaluating suitability
SAP, ORACLE, BaaN, Epicor, Excel, Access MRP / ERP / ROUTER workflow creation & edits
Project, Word, Acrobat, PowerPoint, Visio < 30 years dating back to 1st Windows Releases
Stephen Dale Coomer
Addendum 2
Highlights of my Mechanical / Manufacturing Engineering career
Project / Accomplishment Action Summary
1.) Intel 486 wafer handling solution Intel was unable to manufacture their 486 due
Solution accomplished 7 patents. to wafer features requiring new edge exclusions.
I led design team that restored full production.
2.) ST Microelectronics wafer handling ST-Catania was unable to process their very thin
Solution accomplished 5 patents. wafers due to film tension and wafer warpage.
I led design team that restored full production
and also allowed retrofit of competitor’s systems.
3.) Manufacturing flow line development BOC Edwards was investigating methods to
Solution led to 40% labor & parts savings to improve production. I devised a flow-line
layout that streamlined workflow and reduced
labor 40% by implementing thorough inspection to reduce rework of product.
4.) Manufacturing Quality and Product Uniformity Customer contracted with employer to review
Solution led to 25% labor & parts savings and improve production. I designed a rack unit
Testing was inconsistent and time-consuming. that removed 30 feet of wiring and equipment
The test unit semi-automated the tests and to standardize testing methods. This work also
streamlined the process. developed the first product procedures for that
customer’s assembly department.
5.) Chamber Contamination Materials training Employer was experiencing vacuum system
Solution led to chamber materials changes contamination when I joined them. I was invited
after I performed analysis work at ASU’s to attend discussion of issue. I offered a cause
Eyring Labs to demonstrate anodize failure based on past UHV development work. This led
to redesign of the chamber heater plates.
6.) Ported valve high mortality rate Led team that implemented a 21-day worldwide
Identified failure mode and redesigned parts solution to critical process issue for customer.
preventing a $705,000 warranty claim. Trained customer engineers in leak-checking
by going to various worldwide sites.
7.) Wafer Transfer Arm CIP Employer had been experiencing $249k annual
My design solutions reduced warranty claims warranty claims on their robotic arm design for
to less than $8000 annual (96.8% reduction) the past 19 years. My analysis and redesign has
effectively stopped this with the new arm running
for over 7 years in some installations now.
8.) Field Installation Cycle-time reduction Tasked to develop field fixtures that could help
Reduced install costs by $30,000 per new reduce times and improve customer acceptance.
or retrofit installation and eliminated two Fixture allowed for total pre-facilitization of the
weeks of delay time waiting for trades work. system in all of its configurations, resulting in a
precedent-setting 1-week start-up time.
9.) System Design Scale Model Build ASM Chamber Engineering Team failed to use
Created a 1:24 scale model of a new wafer input from the various design reviews to create processing and deposition system for 450mm adequate service access for under-chamber gas wafer development. The scale model with posed delivery components and instrumentation. The
technician figures demonstrated the inaccessibility model showed the issues and prevented the
and resulted in major redesigns before any parts expense of several hundred thousand dollars
had been ordered. that would have become scrap material.
10.) Cost Savings through Process Efficiency Powder process saved $1.2M/yr over prior yr
Nate Paules Cybercoders Application for role in Heber Springs.
ISO 9001 is a generic quality management standard applicable to any organization, while IATF 16949 is a specific standard for the automotive industry, built upon ISO 9001. IATF 16949 adds requirements beyond ISO 9001, particularly in areas like risk management, supplier management, and customer-specific requirements in the automotive sector
POSITION TITLE: Sr. Project Mechanical Engineer
DEPARTMENT: Engineering
REPORTS TO: Mechanical Engineering Manager
POSITION SUMMARY
Perform engineering duties in planning and designing tools, machines, and other mechanically functioning equipment. Oversee installation, operation, and maintenance of equipment.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
To perform the job successfully, the individual must be able to execute each essential duty satisfactorily. Other duties, assignments, and specific projects may be assigned at the discretion of management. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions
Design, develop and detail mechanical components, equipment, and machinery
Apply knowledge of engineering principles to design products including involvement in the fabrication, operation, application, installation, and repair of mechanical products • Perform engineering studies to develop reliable and optimum material handling systems based on engineering practices or customer requirements
Communicate with customers, vendors, and departments as needed
Prepare technical drawings and specifications of mechanical systems to ensure installation and operations conform to standards and customer requirements
Perform FEA and other computer-assisted calculations and analyses
Read and interpret blueprints, technical drawings, and schematics
Design and detail mechanical conveyor components by using AutoCAD or Inventor
Interface with the fabrication/manufacturing team
Support field modifications and commissioning
Detail mechanical components and structural items to include dimensioning, Bill of Material updates, and modification to existing/standard drawings
Assist in the design and development of new conveyor systems and equipment, and standard cost evaluations for new conveyor equipment
Assist sales or technical service with the complete bid proposal development • Design a complete working conveyor system, whether inverted, overhead, power and free, friction, EMS lifters, attachments, etc., with supports, controls, timing, loading, stress, etc.
Perform other duties as assigned
Ability to work under pressure and to deadlines.
Good problem-solving skills and a creative approach to new ideas.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Technology, or equivalent program
10+ years of experience
Proficient with AutoCAD, Microsoft Word, and Excel
Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
3D CAD experiences such as SolidWorks and Inventor are a plus
Ability to travel as required
Kind Regards,
Georgie
Ross-Clyne
Account Executive
Contact this candidate