Military Talent Pipeline: Employment Outlook
Overview
Semiconductor fabrication remains one of the highest-paying blue-collar/white-collar hybrid careers in the U.S. today, especially on a 12-hour shift schedule with overtime. Central Texas has emerged as a pivotal hub for semiconductor manufacturing in the United States. A motivated high-school graduate in Central Texas can clear $80k-$1 00k in their first year and reach six figures within 2-4 years without a Bachelor’s degree.
Semiconductor Career Pathway
Salary ranges are estimates for Central Texas and exclude overtime, bonuses, and benefits. Education requirements vary by company. Last updated: Dec 2025.
Entry Level
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Production Manufacturing Technician
Experience 0–2 years
Estimated salary $42k–$65k / yr
Typical education HS Diploma; Military experience and/or Certificate and/or A.A. Advanced Manufacturing
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Equipment Maintenance Technician
Experience 0–4 years
Estimated salary $58k–$85k / yr
Typical education Military experience and/or Certificate and/or A.A. Advanced Manufacturing
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Process Technician
Experience 0–4 years
Estimated salary $72k–$105k / yr
Typical education Military + A.A. Advanced Manufacturing
Mid Level
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Equipment Engineer (JR)
Experience 3–5 years
Estimated salary $92k–$125k / yr
Typical education Military; BS in EE/ME/CE
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Process Engineer (SR)
Experience 4–10 years
Estimated salary $120k–$175k / yr
Typical education BS; or MS/PhD with fewer years of experience
Senior / Leadership
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Equipment Engineer (Lead)
Experience 8–15 years
Estimated salary $130k–$190k / yr
Typical education BS
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Department Manager
Experience 10–20 years
Estimated salary $170k–$280k / yr
Typical education BS / MS
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Principal Engineer
Experience 15–25 years
Estimated salary $200k–$300k+ / yr
Typical education PhD
* Salary ranges are estimates for Central Texas and exclude overtime, bonuses, and benefits. ** Education requirements can vary by company.
Semiconductor Companies in Texas
| Company | Locations | Description/Activities | Careers Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Materials | Austin | Equipment manufacturing and R&D for semiconductor production tools. | https://www.appliedmaterials.com/us/en/careers.html |
| Coherent | Sherman | IDM focused on manufacturing optoelectronic components for semiconductors. | https://www.coherent.com/careers |
| Entegris | Burnet | Materials manufacturing for semiconductor processes, including advanced materials and R&D. | https://www.entegris.com/careers |
| EMD | Dallas | Materials manufacturing for electronics and semiconductors. | https://careers.emdgroup.com/us/en |
| GlobalWafers (GlobiTech) | Sherman | Materials manufacturing, specializing in silicon wafers for semiconductors. | https://www.gw-gwa.com/careers |
| Honeywell Industrial | Bryan | Materials manufacturing for industrial and semiconductor applications. | https://careers.honeywell.com/en/sites/Honeywell |
| Infineon Technologies | Various (not specified in detail) | Semiconductor production, including power semiconductors. | https://www.infineon.com/careers |
| KoMiCo | Round Rock (and possibly others) | Semiconductor parts cleaning, coating, and manufacturing services. | https://komico.com/en/recruit/recruit.php |
| Littelfuse | Allen, Round Rock | IDM manufacturing fuses, protectors, and other semiconductor components, with R&D. | https://www.littelfuse.com/company/careers |
| NXP | Austin | IDM manufacturing automotive and IoT semiconductors, with chip design and R&D. | https://www.nxp.com/company/about-nxp/careers:CAREERS |
| Qorvo | Renner | IDM manufacturing RF semiconductors and components. | https://www.qorvo.com/careers |
| Samsung | Austin, Taylor | IDM manufacturing advanced logic chips and foundry services, with R&D. | https://www.samsung.com/us/careers/ |
| Schunk Xycarb | Georgetown | Materials manufacturing for semiconductor equipment and processes. | https://www.schunk-group.com/microelectronics/en/career |
| SecureFoundry | Various (not specified in detail) | Secure semiconductor manufacturing and foundry services. | https://www.securefoundry.com/about/careers/ |
| SkyWater Technology | Austin | Foundry manufacturing custom semiconductors. | https://www.skywatertechnology.com/careers/ |
| Texas Instruments | Dallas, Richardson, Sherman | IDM manufacturing analog and embedded processors, with major fabs and R&D. | https://careers.ti.com/en/sites/CX |
| Tokyo Electron | Austin, Taylor | Semiconductor manufacturing equipment production. | https://www.tel.com/careers/careercenter/index.html |
| Tower Semiconductor | Austin, San Antonio | Foundry manufacturing specialty semiconductors, including analog and mixed-signal. | https://careers.towersemi.com/ |
| X-FAB | Lubbock | Foundry manufacturing analog/mixed-signal semiconductors. | https://www.xfabulous.com/jobs/ |
Position Descriptions
Production Manufacturing Technician
Also called Process Technician, Fab Technician, or Operator Technician
Production Manufacturing Technicians in the semiconductor industry works on the front lines of a wafer fabrication plant (“fab”). Their primary role is to keep the highly automated, ultra-clean production line running 24/7 to turn blank silicon wafers into finished chips. Production Manufacturing Technicians are the hands, eyes, and first responders of the tab- keeping billion-dollar machines running perfectly so that engineers can focus on yield improvement and new processes. They are essential to hitting the tab’s wafers-per-month targets and ultimately to every smartphone, GPU, and car that uses those chips.
Equipment Maintenance Technician
Also called Equipment Technician, Module Technician, or Equip Tech
This role is the lifeline of the fab. While Production Manufacturing Technicians keep the tools running minute-to-minute, Equipment Maintenance Technicians are the ones who fix, upgrade, qualify, and prevent failures on the multi-million-dollar machines that actually make the chips. Equipment Maintenance Technicians are the highly skilled mechanics who keep the world’s most expensive and complex factory tools running 24/7/365. A single good tech can save the company millions of dollars per year in recovered wafers and prevented downtime – and fabs fight hard to hire and retain them.
Process Technician
Also called Process Engineer Technician, Sustaining Technician or Module Technician
This role is the bridge between the production floor and the process engineering team. Process Technicians own the stability, repeatability, and continuous improvement of one specific process module (Etch, CVD, Litho, CMP, Implant, Thin Films, Diffusion, etc.). They are not the degree-holding Process Engineers, but they do almost all of the hands-on experimental and sustaining work. Process Technicians keep the process perfect-they are the ones who actually make the transistors smaller, faster, and cheaper every year. Without great Process Techs, even the most expensive tab cannot hit yield or ship leading-edge chips.
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