Job Description
The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for AIS is responsible for defining and leading the company’s technology and innovation strategy for interconnect solutions This includes ownership of technology direction, roadmap execution, engineering excellence, and the integration of these into AIS standard operating procedures (SOPs) to enable a seamless and efficient customer experience.
The CTO ensures AIS delivers differentiated, scalable, and manufacturable technology platforms aligned to strategic customer roadmaps and market inflection points. This role integrates advanced engineering development with design standardization, design for automation, and manufacturing optimization, ensuring rapid innovation transitions into high-yield, high-volume production.
This role also ensures full system-level integration between socket technologies and AIS PCBA platforms, enabling optimized electrical, mechanical, and manufacturing performance across the entire interconnect solution.
As a key executive leader, the CTO drives technical competitiveness, platform reuse, process discipline, and factory scalability, positioning AIS as the technology leader in socket and interconnect solutions.
Key Responsibilities
- Technology Strategy & Roadmap Leadership
- Define and own AIS technology strategy across socket and interconnect solutions.
- Establish forward-looking roadmaps for:
- Signal Integrity (SI) and Power Integrity (PI)
- Co-Packaged Optics (CPO)
- Co-Packaged Copper (CPC)
- High-density, high-speed socket architectures
- Align technology direction with strategic customer roadmaps (AI, HPC, advanced packaging).
- Anticipate key inflection points (data rates, power density, thermal constraints) and position AIS ahead of market needs.
- Socket Technology Leadership
- Serve as the enterprise leader for socket architecture, design, and performance innovation
- Drive next-generation socket solutions enabling:
- Ultra-high-speed data transmission
- Advanced thermal and mechanical performance
- Compatibility with chiplet, 2.5D/3D, and interposer-based architectures
- Ensure tight integration between socket, substrate, and system-level test requirements.
- Advanced Engineering & Innovation Execution
- Lead global engineering across SI/PI, mechanical, materials, and electrical disciplines.
- Drive innovation in:
- Advanced materials (low-loss dielectrics, copper technologies, thin films)
- Modeling and simulation (SI/PI, thermal, mechanical)
- Design-for-X (DFM, DFT, DFA, reliability)
- Establish disciplined frameworks to transition R&D into production-ready solutions.
- Socket-to-PCBA System Integration Leadership
- Own the end-to-end integration of socket solutions into AIS PCBA platforms, ensuring seamless system-level performance.
- Drive co-design and co-optimization across:
- Socket architecture
- Test boards / PCBA layouts
- Signal and power delivery networks
- Thermal and mechanical interfaces
- Ensure alignment of SI/PI, materials, and stack-up design from socket through PCB.
- Establish integrated design rules and interface standards to ensure scalability, compatibility, and repeatability
- Align engineering and manufacturing teams to eliminate disconnects between component design and system-level execution
- Enable faster qualification, improved yield, and reduced integration risk through tightly coupled designs.
- Design Standardization & Platform Architecture Sockets and Mechanical
- Define and implement design standards, reusable modules, and platform architectures across AIS.
- Drive platform reuse to reduce cycle time, complexity, and cost.
- Ensure consistent application of engineering best practices globally.
- Establish standardized interface definitions across socket, PCB, and system architectures.
- Manufacturing Optimization & Technology Transfer Sockets and Mechanical
- Ensure all technologies are:
- Manufacturable at scale
- Yield-optimized
- Cost-competitive
- Lead design-to-manufacturing integration, including:
- Process capability alignment
- Cycle time optimization
- Capacity scalability (panel size, throughput, equipment strategy)
- Establish robust NPI-to-HVM transition models with clear readiness criteria.
- Ensure all designs meet DFM and DFA requirements to enable highly automated production environments.
- Design for Automation (DFA) Leadership
- Define and lead AIS’s Design for Automation (DFA) strategy across socket and PCBA product lines.
- Ensure products are inherently optimized for:
- Automated assembly
- Inline inspection and test automation
- Scalable high-volume manufacturing
- Establish DFA standards covering:
- Geometry, tolerances, and alignment features
- Material compatibility with automation
- Interfaces enabling robotic assembly and test
- Drive co-development between engineering and manufacturing automation teams.
- Reduce manual touchpoints and improve:
- Throughput
- Repeatability
- Cost structure
- Integrate DFA with DFM, DFT, and system-level architecture.
- Cross-Functional Integration
- Act as the technical integrator across Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Quality
- Ensure alignment between technology development, customer qualification timing, and operational readiness.
- Lead executive-level technical readiness reviews and risk identification/mitigation.
- Strategic Customer & Ecosystem Engagement
- Engage directly with strategic customers on:
- Technology roadmaps
- Co-development initiatives (CPO/CPC, substrates, interconnects)
- Qualification and performance requirements
- Build partnerships across the semiconductor ecosystem (materials, substrates, OEMs, foundries).
- Organization Leadership & Capability Building
- Build and lead a world-class global technology organization
- Develop deep expertise in:
- High-speed electrical design
- Optical/electrical co-packaging
- Process engineering and manufacturability
- Drive a culture of innovation, accountability, and execution discipline.
- M&A and Strategic Partnerships
- Identify, evaluate, and drive acquisitions and partnerships aligned with strategic
customer roadmaps.
- Target opportunities that enhance AIS’s technology portfolio, improve supply chain
control, mitigate risk and drive manufacturing efficiencies for next-generation sockets and PCBA,.
Ensure seamless integration of acquired technologies into AIS platforms, accelerating
time-to-market and strengthening competitive positioning.
What Success Looks Like
- AIS is recognized as the technology leader in socket and interconnect solutions
- Successful deployment of CPO/CPC-enabled socket platforms aligned to customer roadmaps.
- Strong system-level performance across socket + PCBA integration
- Measurable improvements in:
- SI/PI performance
- Time-to-market
- Manufacturing yield and cost
- Automation efficiency and labor reduction
- A standardized, modular design ecosystem driving speed and reuse.
- Seamless transition of new technologies into high-volume, automated manufacturing
- Strategic partnerships with top-tier semiconductor customers and ecosystem leaders.
Qualifications
Key Qualifications
- 15+ years of leadership in semiconductor, interconnect, or advanced packaging technologies.
- Deep expertise in:
- Signal Integrity / Power Integrity (112G / 224G / 448G+)
- Socket, substrate, or interconnect design
- Co-packaged optics or high-speed system integration
- Proven track record scaling technologies from R&D to high-volume manufacturing.
- Experience driving design standardization, DFA, and factory automation
- Executive leadership experience with global engineering organizations.
- Strong understanding of semiconductor test ecosystems and customer qualification processes.
About Advantest
Advantest America Inc. is part of Advantest Corporation, the world’s largest provider of automated test equipment (ATE) for the semiconductor industry. The company designs and manufactures cutting-edge testing solutions that help semiconductor manufacturers ensure the quality and performance of their products. Advantest is known for innovation, reliability, and a strong commitment to supporting its customers and employees.
Our Purpose & Values:
Mission: Improve lives through advanced technologies and customer-focused innovation.
Vision: Be the most trusted and valued test solution provider in the semiconductor value chain.
Core Values:
I- Innovation is our Lifeblood
N- Number One is Our Aspiration
T- Trust is our Foundation
E- Empowerment is Our Motivation
G- Global is our Reach
R- Respect is our Heart
I - Inclusion and Diversity is Our Commitment
T- Teamwork is our Approach
Y- Yes is Our Attitude
Why Join Us
At Advantest, innovation starts with people. We’re looking for curious, capable, and collaborative individuals ready to shape the future of semiconductor technology. You’ll join a global team where your ideas are valued, your growth is supported, and your work makes a real impact.
We foster an integrity-centered culture, where honesty, inclusion, and respect are the foundation of everything we do.
Benefits Overview
* Global Bonus Program: Performance-based bonuses paid twice yearly.
* 401(k) Plan: Pre-tax retirement savings with company match.
* Medical, Dental & Vision: Multiple plan options including HMO, PPO, and HSA.
* Income Protection: Life, disability, and accident insurance at no cost.
* Flexible Spending Accounts: Healthcare and dependent care options.
* Employee Assistance Program: Free support for personal and work-related issues.
* Flexible Time Off: Accrual starts at hire, increases with service.
* Paid Holidays: 13 company holidays annually.
Salary Range
Non-Bay Area Target Salary Range: $165,000-$255,000 DOE
State of California Development
State of California Development (EDD):
- § 60-300.5(a)(2)(3)(4) Equal opportunity clause. Details the job posting requirements.
- § 60-300.5(a)(6) Equal opportunity clause. All employment openings includes all positions except executive and senior management, those positions that will be filled from within the contractor's organization, and positions lasting three days or less. This term includes full-time employment, temporary employment of more than three days' duration, and part-time employment.
CCPA Notice for California Residents:
Notice for California Residents: We collect personal information (PI) from you in connection with your application for employment with Advantest America, Inc., including some or all of the following categories of PI: identifiers and personal records (e.g., name, phone number, email address, employment history); commercial information (e.g., if we reimburse you for travel or other expenses during the application process); sensory information (e.g., recorded virtual interviews); professional or employment information (e.g., information provided in your resume and application, such as employment history); non-public education records (e.g., educational institution transcripts and records); and inferences drawn from the above categories of PI. We collect your PI for our purposes, including performing operations related to your potential employment. To view the Advantest Privacy Policy, visit https://www.advantest.com/privacy-policy.html. For additional details or if you have questions, contact us at AAI_privacy.officer@advantest.com.
