Lam Research - Summer Analyst

At Lam Research, I worked on the Global Field Operations team during a critical integration phase following the company’s acquisition of Novellus Systems. Lam is a leading supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry – its tools are used in nearly every advanced chip produced today. The company plays a vital role in enabling cutting-edge process nodes through plasma etch, deposition, and clean technologies, serving clients such as TSMC, Intel, Samsung, and Micron. Given the capital intensity and precision of semiconductor manufacturing, Lam’s ability to provide efficient, globally coordinated field support is directly tied to its value proposition.

Scope of Work

1. Manpower Planning for Post-Merger Integration

• I supported workforce integration efforts across Lam and Novellus, analyzing the use of field service contractors worldwide.

• The goal was to identify redundancy in task coverage – installations, maintenance, retrofits – and find opportunities to streamline labor allocation without compromising performance.

• This work fed into broader decisions on contractor consolidation, internal role reallocation, and regional resource balancing.

2. Flash Reporting Automation

• I developed a consolidated flash reporting tool that automated the aggregation of data from multiple sources: labor gap lists, install and warranty metrics, retrofit obligations, overtime compliance, and contractor logs.

• The tool, built in Excel VBA, replaced a manual process that previously required up to 10 people and several hours each week.

• By automating the data pull and structuring reports into a centralized file, the new system generated results in under two minutes – with a single click.

• The output improved real-time visibility into global field operations and helped drive faster decision-making.

3. Field Efficiency & KPI Monitoring

• Worked with global and regional teams to maintain Lam’s field labor accounting infrastructure and ensure accurate reporting across service lines.

• Monitored key field metrics including installation cycle times, contractor utilization, and regional overtime compliance.

• Delivered insights that supported Lam’s broader goals of increasing workforce flexibility, reducing downtime, and lowering install and warranty costs.

Outcome

The reporting platform I built became a core operational tool, still used after my engagement to support real-time field service planning. The manpower analysis provided actionable insights that informed early contractor reductions and improved labor deployment across regions. In an industry where even minor equipment downtime can have multimillion-dollar implications, these tools and process improvements directly supported Lam’s commitment to service reliability and operational scale – both critical factors in maintaining supplier status with the world’s most advanced chipmakers.