By Jenna-Lee Neff
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has begun the hiring process, looking to fill a number of positions including process integration engineers, equipment technicians, manufacturing supervisors, and facility process gas and chemical engineers.
The hiring comes as the next step in the multi-billion-dollar project that will eventually see TSMC producing 5-nanometer chips in Arizona. According to TSMC’s website, the size is the most advanced circuitry in today’s products and a fraction of the size of a human hair, which measures between 80,000-100,000 nanometers.
The City of Phoenix approved a $12 billion deal with TSMC late last year. After the approval, the company bought 1,128 acres of land in north Phoenix that will be home to a new semiconductor fabrication plant and signed a lease for a 46,735-square-foot office located at the Canyon Corporate Plaza office campus.
“The semiconductor industry set up shop in Arizona back in 1949, long before Silicon Valley became a thing,” the TSMC website states. “This means the ecosystem for a fab is already in place when it comes to work force, supply chain and public policies.”
According to Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, the project is expected to create approximately 1,900 high-tech jobs and foster thousands more related jobs in the semiconductor supply chain ecosystem.
TSMC plans to attract a workforce from in and out of state, explaining on the website that, “Because the Arizona fab will ultimately employ well over 1,000 engineers, we need to go beyond tapping the existing Arizona workforce.”
TSMC’s careers website cites a low cost of living, outdoor activities, professional sports and an average of 299 sunny days a year as assets that will help the company attract college graduates and engineers early in their careers to putting down roots in the Valley.
The anticipated schedule for the project puts design completion and the beginning of construction later this year, according to the City of Phoenix website. The plant is expected to be in production by 2024.
For more information on careers with TSMC, visit tsmccareers.com/tsmc-arizona.
Jenna-Lee Neff is a freelance journalist, digital audience analyst, and nonprofit public relations professional. Learn more about her work at jennaleeneff.com.
