Semiconductor recruitment
This is why HiReKing came to Taiwan. Wafer fabrication, OSAT, IC design and equipment and materials — from senior engineers to plant leadership, we treat the whole supply chain as one talent market.
The shortage is people, not capacity
Taiwan holds the most critical stretch of the global semiconductor supply chain. Advanced nodes keep moving, packaging shifts toward 2.5D and 3D, and localisation of equipment and materials keeps accelerating — all competing for the same limited talent pool.
The difficulty here is not a shortage of CVs. It is that the right people are almost always employed, usually have a non-compete to work through, and usually have unvested stock holding them in place. Moving them takes industry understanding and credible relationships, not a job posting and patience.
That is why semiconductor is our core practice rather than a line on a list.
Where we recruit
- Hsinchu Science Park, plus Zhunan and Hukou
- Central Taiwan Science Park and surrounding sites
- Southern Taiwan Science Park, Tainan and Kaohsiung expansions
- Client sites in Singapore, Malaysia (Penang) and Vietnam
Four sub-sectors, one talent network
Talent moves between these four. Covering all of them is what makes it possible to judge a candidate's market value and whether they can realistically be moved.
Wafer Fabrication (Foundry / IDM)
Production and R&D roles across advanced and mature nodes.
- Process integration and module engineering — thin film, litho, etch, diffusion, CMP
- Equipment engineering, maintenance and enhancement
- Yield analysis, defect inspection, reliability and failure analysis
- Facilities, cleanroom, EHS and section-manager level upward
Packaging & Test (OSAT)
Advanced packaging is growing fastest, and the talent gap here is the most visible.
- Packaging process and advanced packaging R&D — 2.5D/3D, fan-out
- Test engineering, test program development and ATE
- Materials engineering, substrate and carrier technology
- QA, customer quality engineering and NPI
IC Design
Digital, analog, firmware and verification, including EDA and IP vendors.
- Digital IC design, backend physical design and timing closure
- Analog / mixed-signal, power management and RF design
- Verification, DFT and SoC integration
- Embedded firmware, drivers and field application engineering
Equipment & Materials
Both international equipment vendors' Taiwan teams and the domestic supply chain.
- Equipment R&D, mechanical design and automation control
- Customer support, on-site engineering and technical service
- Process chemicals, targets, photoresist and specialty materials
- Business development and product marketing with a technical background
What we ask you first
- Is this a new headcount or a backfill? How long did the last person stay, and why did they leave?
- How is the package built — base, bonus, equity and shift allowance?
- Which technical requirements are genuinely mandatory, and which are nice to have?
- How many interview rounds, who decides, and how fast can an offer issue?
Four realities of semiconductor hiring
Every semiconductor search runs into these. Whether your consultant has handled them before is the difference between an offer and a dead end.
- Non-compete clauses — scope, whether compensation was actually paid, and real-world enforceability. This has to be clarified before shortlisting, not discovered at offer stage.
- Unvested equity and bonuses — often the real reason someone stays. If the offer cannot quantify and bridge the gap, the candidate stays put.
- Shift and on-site patterns — day/night rotation, four-shift systems, on-site support. Spell out the real schedule or the hire quits within a month.
- Confidentiality and conflicts — client lists, project information and candidate identities must all be controlled, and the conflict rules agreed in advance when we serve multiple firms in one segment.