Micron is recruiting Seoul-based HBM design architects as Samsung faces labor-management tensions over bonuses and treatment
Headquarters of Micron.
US memory semiconductor company Micron Technology recently began recruiting core High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) design personnel with the condition of working in Seoul. The industry is concerned that Samsung Electronics, which is experiencing internal growing pains due to labor-management conflict over performance bonuses and treatment issues, will find it difficult to immediately respond to such talent poaching by global semiconductor companies.
Micron is also paying attention to the Korean market, such as recently strengthening the public relations organization of its Korean subsidiary (Micron Semiconductor Korea).
According to the industry on May 19, Micron recently began recruiting HBM design personnel in Korea. The recruiting job categories are ‘Staff HBM Design Architect’ and ‘Principal HBM Design Architect’, and the work location is Seoul.
This role is responsible for the digital and analog DRAM circuit design and analysis of next-generation HBM products. It includes not only the power, area, and speed optimization of high-speed DRAM and mixed-signal circuits, but also architecture direction review and function verification work for future HBM products.
In the job posting, Micron presented the ‘Development of next-generation HBM solutions for artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and high-performance computing (HPC)’ as its main goal.
The application conditions are also evaluated as practically targeting high-level memory design personnel. The Staff level required a bachelor’s degree or higher in related fields such as electrical and electronic engineering and 3 years or more of semiconductor design experience, while the Principal level required 7 years or more of circuit design experience based on a bachelor’s degree or 5 years or more based on a master’s degree.
The company explained that the recruited personnel will participate not only in HBM circuit design but also in the development of core next-generation AI memory technologies such as Through Silicon Via (TSV) based 3D stacking structures, power optimization, and high-speed interface development.
The HBM design architect category that Micron is recruiting for is evaluated as a core position targeting high-level memory design personnel. According to the industry, based on US standards, the annual salary for this role is known to be around 100,000,000 won (approximadely $66,670 based on won-dollar rate 1,500) to 150,000,000 won for the Staff level, and up to around 300,000,000 won for the Principal level when including performance compensation. In addition to this, there are also performance bonuses and stock compensation.
The industry views this recruitment, which includes the condition of working in Seoul, as essentially aimed at securing domestic core HBM talent. Currently, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics hold over 70% of the global HBM market.
There is also an interpretation that offering conditions to work domestically without the burden of relocating overseas is a strategy to allow Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix employees to apply without burden.
The recent situation where Samsung Electronics is experiencing labor-management conflict over the performance bonus system and treatment issues is a great opportunity for global memory semiconductor companies like Micron. Tesla is also pushing to recruit tera-fab related semiconductor process engineers to work in Seoul this year.
Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk drew attention in February by posting a message with a Taegeukgi emoticon on his social media X account, saying, “If you are in Korea and want to work in semiconductor design, manufacturing, and software, join Tesla”.
In fact, there has been constant talk in the industry that some personnel from the Samsung Electronics memory division moved to SK Hynix during the process of the HBM market dominance shifting to SK Hynix in recent years.
The Samsung Electronics union is also claiming that some memory personnel recently moved to SK Hynix. It is reported that there are also quite a few cases of people transferring to US big tech companies or China.
The fact that Micron has recently been actively expanding its presence in the Korean market is also drawing the industry’s attention. It is known that Micron recently proceeded with the process of selecting a Korean public relations (PR) specialized agency to strengthen its domestic media and external communications.
The industry views this as a move to increase brand awareness and influence in the domestic memory semiconductor market formed around Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Micron is accelerating its targeting of the AI memory market, recently supplying 5th generation HBM3E to Nvidia. Recently, it also disclosed its mass production shipment plan for HBM4, a next-generation product.
An industry official said, “It appears that Micron is simultaneously pushing to expand its influence within the Korean HBM ecosystem and secure core talent beyond simple sales expansion.”
Kim Eun-jin
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