SK hynix looking for semiconductor engineers: 48 positions in HBM, FinFET transistor experts

SK hynix is looking for semiconductor engineers to help fill 48 positions related to HBM chips, including manufacturing process engineers to help increase yields and improve testing, FinFET transistor experts, and former Samsung staffers.

2

In a new report from The Korea Economic Daily, dominance in the AI and HBM space is heating up between South Korean rivals Samsung SK hynix, particularly in the HBM4 memory chip business. SK hynix designs and produces most of its semiconductors in-house, including HBM memory, but for HBM4, the company is outsourcing manufacturing to a foundry or contract chipmaker, with all signs pointing to TSMC.

On top of that, SK hynix is "aggressively" looking for the top talent in the industry -- mostly in South Korea, where Samsung and SK hynix are battling it out -- to advance its HBM technology and oversee tech outsourcing. SK hynix is aiming for the throat, looking at hiring as many Samsung engineers as it can.

SK hynix recently posted a global recruitment notice seeing experienced workers for 48 positions related to HBM memory, with interested professionals required to submit their applications to SK hynix by July 15, so they don't have long at all.

• Read more: TSMC, Global Unichip win bulk orders for base dies used on SK hynix's next-gen HBM4 memory
• Read more: SK hynix, Samsung, Micron are expanding HBM production, order strength to last throughout 2025
• Read more: SK hynix speeds up HBM development: HBM4 in 2025 and HBM4E now coming in 2026
• Read more: Micron expands HBM production with new lines in the US, also considers Malaysia HBM production
• Read more: SK hynix says its ultra-next-gen HBM4E in 2026, ready for the world of next-gen AI GPUs
• Read more: NVIDIA's next-gen R100 AI GPU: TSMC 3nm with CoWoS-L packaging, HBM4 in Q4 2025
• Read more: SK hynix says most of its HBM for 2025 is sold out already, 16-Hi HBM4 coming in 2028
• Read more: SK hynix and TSMC to work together with HBM4, next-gen semiconductor packaging tech
• Read more: Samsung and SK hynix to use new 1c DRAM on next-gen HBM4 memory for future-gen AI GPUs

SK hynix said it is looking for chip experts with over 4 years of experience in order to help the South Korean giant to enhance HBM logic die yields through foundry process improvements and logic die testing. Potential future SK hynix staffers will require extensive knowledge in analyzing the latest foundry technologies, developing foundry devices, and more.

The company is particularly looking for 9 chip engineers for FinFET semiconductor technology, with these staffers requiring more than 10 years of work experience.

Korea Economic Daily reports from their industry sources that SK hynix needs to hire "top-notch engineers" for its sixth-generation HBM4 memory, which is expected to enter mass production in 2025, as well as the development and advancement of next-generation 3D DRAM chip and processing-in-memory (PIM) chip technology.

Samsung isn't taking this easily, with the company adding 300 engineers to its newly-announced HBM team to develop HBM4 chips of the future. Samsung is the second largest foundry company after TSMC, with Samsung capable of handling all processes related to HBM4 in-house, including logic die design, packaging, and production.

An industry official told Korea Economic Daily: "Competition for AI chip supremacy is heating up between Samsung and SK Hynix, particularly for the HBM4 chip. The first challenge for Samsung is to get its HBM chips approved by NVIDIA".