About Nearfield Instruments
Nearfield Instruments is a fast-growing technology company bringing together leading minds in science and engineering to develop a revolutionary high-throughput atomic force microscopy (AFM) platform. Our systems enable atom-scale, true-3D metrology at industry-relevant throughput and are quickly becoming essential tools in advanced semiconductor manufacturing.
We design, develop, integrate, and support these cutting-edge metrology systems and are rapidly expanding across the U.S. and Asia. To support this growth, we are establishing a strong on-site presence in South Korea for one of our strategic customers. This includes key locations such as Pyeongtaek and Dongtan. By expanding our footprint in the region, we are continuously strengthening our ability to support our customers and enhance our operational effectiveness.
What You’ll Be Doing
As a Site Manager, you will be the primary on-site leader for Nearfield at a key customer location in South Korea. You will combine technical expertise, customer engagement, and team leadership to ensure successful deployment, development, and scaling of Nearfield’s AFM solutions.
You will lead daily operations at the customer site, act as the senior technical interface, and ensure alignment between the customer, internal engineering teams, and global stakeholders. This role is critical in driving new product introductions (NPI), production ramp, and long-term customer success.
This is a hands-on leadership role where you will remain technically involved while building and guiding a high-performing local team.
Key Responsibilities
Site Leadership and Customer Management
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Act as the primary point of contact for the customer at site level and build strong, trusted relationships
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Lead and coordinate all on-site Nearfield activities, including engineering, applications, and support
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Represent Nearfield in technical and operational discussions with customer engineering and management teams
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Ensure high customer satisfaction, timely issue resolution, and clear communication
Technical and Operational Execution
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Oversee tool installations, NPI activities, and early production ramp
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Support process development, experiments, and application optimization with the customer
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Drive structured root-cause analysis and issue resolution in collaboration with global product and engineering teams
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Ensure system performance meets agreed specifications and customer expectations
Team Leadership and Development
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Build, lead, and develop a local team of engineers and technical specialists
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Provide coaching, prioritization, and direction to ensure effective execution
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Foster a strong team culture aligned with Nearfield’s values of collaboration and ownership
Bridging HQ and Customer
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Act as a key interface between the customer and Nearfield headquarters in the Netherlands and global teams
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Ensure effective escalation and follow-up of technical and operational topics
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Capture and translate field learnings into best-known methods, product improvements, and documentation
Continuous Improvement and Growth
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Identify opportunities for process improvements, new applications, and system enhancements
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Support scaling from development into high-volume manufacturing
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Contribute to strategic account growth in collaboration with account management and product teams
What We’re Looking For
We are looking for a strong technical leader who thrives in a fast-paced, customer-facing environment and enjoys building teams while staying close to cutting-edge technology.
Required Qualifications
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Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering or a related technical field
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Approximately 8 to 15 years of experience in semiconductor, capital equipment, metrology, or related industries
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Proven experience in customer-facing roles, ideally in on-site or key account environments
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Demonstrated ability to lead teams or coordinate cross-functional groups
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Strong problem-solving skills and a hands-on engineering mindset
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Excellent communication skills across technical and cultural boundaries
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Fluency in English; Korean language skills are strongly preferred
Preferred Qualifications
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Experience with advanced process equipment or metrology systems such as AFM or CD-SEM
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Background in NPI, process development, or production ramp environments
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Experience working with major semiconductor customers in South Korea
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Familiarity with leading semiconductor equipment manufacturers or similar organizations
What You Can Expect From Us
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A high-impact leadership role at the forefront of semiconductor innovation
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Direct exposure to leading-edge customers and next-generation device manufacturing
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The opportunity to build and shape Nearfield’s presence in South Korea
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A collaborative, international work environment with strong engineering depth
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Significant opportunities for professional growth and leadership development
At Nearfield, we operate in a fast-paced and high-performance environment where innovation and end-to-end ownership are expected. We work closely with our customers to solve complex challenges, often under demanding timelines. We value professionals with a strong sense of responsibility, ambition to grow, and a continuous learner mindset to deliver reliable results.
