---
title: 'Principal Equipment Engineer at Diamond Foundry'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/principal-equipment-engineer-diamond-foundry-bay-area-fftgnb53p3y7'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-08'
---

# Principal Equipment Engineer at Diamond Foundry

- **Company:** Diamond Foundry
- **Location:** Bay Area, CA
- **Compensation:** $150k–$180k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-08-12
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/diamondfoundry/c7d6bec3-96cb-452f-8591-1f2f7a24bcae

## Job description

Diamond Foundry Inc. is solving the thermal limitation at the foundation of today's most exciting tech industries -- AI & cloud compute, electric-car power electronics, and 5G/6G wireless. We have managed to produce the world's first single-crystal diamond wafers and are now on a mission to put a diamond behind every chip. We are the rare unicorn that has grown fast and profitably. We received $515m in funding and are executing a multi-$B expansion plan for one of the greenest forms of tech manufacturing: converting greenhouse gas into diamond wafers using zero-emission energy.

## Responsibilities

- End-to-End Tool Ownership: Manage an assigned section of back-end process tools (laser, cleaning, thermal, metrology, and material handling) to optimize tool availability, capability, and total cost of ownership.

- Advanced Troubleshooting: Serve as the final escalation point for complex electro-mechanical failures, using structured root-cause methods (8D, 5-Why) to improve MTBF and MTTR metrics under SEMI E10 standards.

- CapEx & Site Transfers: Author equipment specifications, evaluate vendors, execute FAT/SAT, and manage the technical documentation required to package and transfer equipment setups to international sites.

- Engineering & Safety Standards: Establish robust standards for PM plans, CMMS assets, ECNs, and ISO 9001 compliance. Enforce rigorous engineering controls for Class IV lasers, chemical hazards, and high-temperature systems.

- Mentorship & Support: Act as a technical resource for maintenance technicians and mentor junior equipment engineers through design reviews, troubleshooting sessions, and technical documentation audits.

## Requirements

- Education & Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Mechatronics, Electrical, or Manufacturing Engineering with 10+ years of hands-on equipment ownership in a high-volume semiconductor, advanced materials, or high-precision manufacturing environment.

- Technical Depth: Mastery of electro-mechanical systems (motion control, PLC/HMI, pneumatics, vacuum, fluid delivery). Strong preference for experience with Class IV lasers, CMP/polishing, or robotic work cells.

- Data-Driven Analysis: Track record of moving OEE, MTBF, and MTTR metrics with evidence rather than opinion. Experience with data analysis tools beyond spreadsheets (Python, JMP, SQL) is a plus.

- Safety & Compliance: Practical experience applying machine safety codes (LOTO, NFPA 79, CE/UL, SEMI S2). Proficiency with 3D CAD (SolidWorks), PLM (Teamcenter), and CMMS frameworks.

- Autonomy & Leadership: Proven history of operating independently as a principal contributor, managing competing priorities without close supervision, and aligning cross-functional teams without direct positional authority.

Diamond Foundry believes in supporting our employees from the workplace to their personal and home life. We provide eligible employees with an opportunity to enroll in a variety of benefit programs, generally including health insurance, flexible spending accounts, retirement savings plans, life and disability insurance programs, and a number of programs that provide for both paid and unpaid time away from work. Perks include employee discounts to VRAI. Our benefits begin as early as your first day of employment. Medical and vision coverage are retroactive to your start date, while dental and voluntary benefits take effect once you’ve completed your enrollment.

Diamond Foundry is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected factor under federal, state or local law.

Diamond Foundry Inc. is committed to operating in full compliance with all applicable state and federal laws. Our commitment extends to ensuring that our manufacturing and engineering departments adhere to the highest standards of legal and regulatory compliance. Additionally, these departments may have specific physical requirements to ensure the safety and efficiency of our operations. We prioritize the well-being of our employees and strive to create a work environment that promotes both legal compliance and the optimal functioning of our manufacturing and engineering processes.

Manufacturing and Engineering Departments Physical Requirements: -Use appropriate PPE and follow all safety policies, practices, and procedures. -This position will often: Sit, stand for long periods, walk, grasp, reach with hands and arms, lift below and above shoulders, bend, twist at the waist,  climb, balance, stoop, squat,  kneel, crawl, talk, hear, see, use fine finger manipulation, and complete repetitive motions. -Some tasks may require the use of ladders or stairs -Some tasks may require driving or the use of foot controls -Lift/carry and push/pull up to 50 pound

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before the employer can take any action against you, including terminating your employment. Employers can only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the Form I-9.

## About Diamond Foundry

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Diamond Foundry creates single-crystal diamond wafers and diamond-based semiconductors to solve the thermal limitations at the core of AI, electric vehicles, and wireless communications.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B, multiple debt rounds)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2013
- **Founders**: Engineers from Stanford, MIT, and Princeton (founded in 2012, incorporated 2013)

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Semiconductor Manufacturing / Advanced Materials
- Target customers: B2B, primarily enterprise partners in AI/cloud compute, electric vehicles, and 5G/6G wireless (chip makers, data center operators, automotive OEMs)
- Mission or purpose: To put diamond behind every chip and eventually deliver diamond semiconductors with 17,200x the semiconductor merit of silicon.

## Products & Services
- **[Diamond Wafer]**: Single-crystal diamond wafers designed to be placed behind high-power chips to solve thermal management. Claims 8x smaller power electronics than Tesla’s.
- **[AI & Cloud Compute]**: Diamond-powered AI datacenter solutions, leveraging diamond’s extreme thermal conductivity to enable faster, denser compute.
- **[Consumer Jewelry (VRAI)]**: Sustainably created diamond jewelry, serving as the company’s consumer-facing brand and proof of its diamond-growing capability.
- **[Electric Car Components]**: Diamond-based power electronics for electric vehicles, improving efficiency and reducing size.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not disclosed (was a unicorn as of Series B). Revenue of $350M (annual) indicates strong growth.
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue: $350M (as of most recent data). Total Funding: ~$523M+ across multiple rounds (Series A, B, venture, debt).
- **Notable Investors**: Not explicitly listed in provided data, but funding history includes multiple institutional investors.
- **Growth Signals**: 5 years profitable; >90% global market share for large diamond wafers; headcount up 23.5% YoY (to 259 employees); active job postings up 54.2% YoY; building the largest solar + battery farm in Europe to power its Spain foundry.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Vertically integrated manufacturing**: Designs and builds its own reactor technology and runs all operations in-house, enabling rapid scaling and cost control.
- **First-mover in diamond wafers**: Claims >90% global market share for large single-crystal diamond wafers.
- **Extreme material advantage**: Diamond has 17,200x the semiconductor merit of silicon, offering a massive physics-based moat.
- **Green manufacturing**: Crystallizes greenhouse gas into diamond using zero-emission energy; byproducts are oxygen and water.
- **Profitability**: Rare for a hardware unicorn; has been profitable for 5 years.

## Strategic Focus
- **Near-term (2023+)**: Place a diamond behind every high-power chip, solving the thermal bottleneck for AI, EVs, and 5G/6G.
- **Mid-term (2033+)**: Deliver diamond semiconductors (transistors) that outperform silicon by orders of magnitude.
- **Operational**: Scaling production capacity in the US (Wenatchee, WA) and Spain (Trujillo), including building a massive solar+battery farm.
- **R&D**: Advancing heteroepitaxy and bonding processes in labs in the US and Germany.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as “focused on creators and creating,” with small teams of hands-on contributors, little hierarchy, and low overhead. High performers can build sizable equity ownership.
- **Work Policy**: Roles are predominantly on-site (Wenatchee, WA; Trujillo, Spain; SF Bay Area, CA; Augsburg, Germany; Dubai, UAE). No fully remote jobs currently posted.
- **Notable Perks**: Work on the “universe’s most extreme material” at the intersection of AI, EVs, and advanced manufacturing. Global opportunities across 9 countries.
- **Engineering Culture**: Deep tech, R&D-heavy environment with a 30-year master plan. Emphasis on innovation and building the future of semiconductors.
- **Diversity**: Global group with operations in the US, Spain, UAE, Germany, Taiwan, and more.

## Sources
1. [df.com/about-us](https://www.df.com/about-us)
2. [df.com/working-at-df](https://www.df.com/working-at-df)
3. [careers.df.com](https://careers.df.com/)
4. [jobs.lever.co/diamondfoundry](https://jobs.lever.co/diamondfoundry)
5. [linkedin.com/company/diamond-foundry](https://www.linkedin.com/company/diamond-foundry)

## Other roles at Diamond Foundry

- [Mechanical Engineer, Systems & Automation](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-engineer-systems-automation-diamond-foundry-zaragoza-azqn7d2c9s31) — Zaragoza, Spain
- [Diamond Sales Expert - Chicago](https://feeny.ai/job/diamond-sales-expert-chicago-diamond-foundry-chicago-kc6b0sxtgg3g) — Chicago, IL
- [Equipment Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/equipment-engineer-diamond-foundry-trujillo-q7synbm9r42q) — Trujillo, Spain
- [Técnico de Producción](https://feeny.ai/job/tecnico-de-produccion-diamond-foundry-zaragoza-9rzgb9b4s74n) — Zaragoza, Spain
- [Director, Laser Technology](https://feeny.ai/job/director-laser-technology-diamond-foundry-bay-area-qy6zks0shnrc) — Bay Area, CA
- [Conductor de Empresa y Asistente de Operaciones](https://feeny.ai/job/conductor-de-empresa-y-asistente-de-operaciones-diamond-foundry-trujillo-hh2js80axxrm) — Trujillo, Spain
- [Part-Time Diamond Sales Expert - San Francisco](https://feeny.ai/job/part-time-diamond-sales-expert-san-francisco-diamond-foundry-chicago-k1kkrfhhmj8n) — Chicago, IL
- [Marketing Director](https://feeny.ai/job/marketing-director-diamond-foundry-new-york-dhd19r3dnthc) — New York, NY
- [Operational Excellence Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/operational-excellence-specialist-diamond-foundry-wenatchee-8ktstsg5f6dh) — Wenatchee, WA
- [R&D Laser Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/r-d-laser-technician-diamond-foundry-bay-area-2419qpnxd9xq) — Bay Area, CA