Samsung boosts HBM specialist hiring, scales back foundry recruitment

Samsung Electronics Co. is stepping up recruitment of seasoned high-bandwidth memory (HBM) specialists in a push to reclaim leadership in the semiconductor industry, betting on a rebound after a weak second quarter. 

The hiring targets experienced engineers in next-generation semiconductor and chip packaging technologies, including hybrid bonding, a process seen as crucial for improving performance in artificial intelligence and other computing applications.

By contrast, the South Korean chipmaker is scaling back experienced hires in its underperforming foundry division compared with previous years, underscoring its focus on the HBM segment, where it lags behind local rival SK Hynix Inc.

According to Samsung Electronics on Tuesday, its Device Solutions (DS) division, which oversees the company’s semiconductor operations, plans to hire experienced professionals across six of its nine main business units.

The six units are the memory chip business, foundry, semiconductor research center, global manufacturing and infrastructure, test and system package and AI center.

Samsung will open applications for the second-half hiring through Aug. 19.

It declined to specify a target headcount. But industry observers expect hiring to be substantial, pointing to signs of recovery in the memory chip market. Samsung is forecasting a second-half earnings rebound, driven by HBM products.

HBM

Specifically, Samsung is looking for package development experts with the ability to design new architectures for advanced HBM, while product planning hires will be tasked with liaising with clients interested in customized HBM.

Custom HBM refers to versions of the vertically-stacked DRAM product in which the base die -- the layer at the bottom, which functions as the chip’s brain – is equipped with features specified by the customer.

Samsung is expected to bring customized HBM to market as early as next year to narrow the gap with the HBM pioneer SK Hynix.

HYBRID BONDING

Samsung is making efforts to improve hybrid bonding technology, which eliminates the use of bumps – tiny connectors currently used to stack DRAM chips in HBM production – by directly linking chips to one another.

The technology is considered essential for manufacturing products with 16 or more DRAM layers as it can reduce the thickness of HBM stacks and lower heat generation.

The 12-layer HBM3E is the most advanced AI memory chip currently in mass production. SK Hynix became the world's first company to showcase a 16-layer HBM3E early this year.

Meanwhile, Samsung will halt experienced hiring for the System LSI business in the second half of this year.

The unit, which develops non-memory products such as its Exynos application processors and image sensors, extended its losses in the second quarter.

Along with the foundry division, the System LSI unit is among the main drags on Samsung's quarterly results.

Samsung's DS division reported 400 billion won ($288 million) in second-quarter operating profit – its lowest profit since a 2 trillion won operating loss in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang at hjs@hankyung.com
 

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.