David Hong

Co-founder, VP of Npi @Xmems

Santa Clara, CA, US

Shepherd the company’s micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) micro-speakers from prototype to production. Lead a team with PhDs and domain experts in wafer process, packaging, device test and reliability, and yield improvement. Responsibilities include designing process and package, fabricating prototype devices, transferring products into foundries and OSAT, developing automated test systems, and passing reliability tests. Plan new product production schedules and execute to ensure on-time market launch. Manage stakeholders in the company and supply chain to collaborate to solve issues. Designed wafer process and built the company’s first MEMS micro-speaker, demonstrating proof of concept and securing future venture funding and eventual acceptance by TSMC as a customer. Enabled quick prototyping of all company designs, cutting months of development time and saving tens of thousands in cost per product. Drove package process development, collaborating with the design team to improve product robustness through packaging and assembly. Conducted failure analysis and ran design of experiments to find the root cause of reliability issues. Managed 5 micro-speakers from prototypes to production, setting and meeting milestones to ensure process development, packaging, product test, and reliability tests were completed on time for MEMS devices and supporting ICs. Brought multiple products into production at wafer foundries and package/test vendors, serving as the project lead. Led a team to design and build the first automated, high-speed micro-speaker final test system in the world with a throughput of > 0.5M units/month per test system. Installed and qualified multiple test systems at the vendor’s site. Set up wafer and final test yield analysis capabilities, analyze test data to determine product specifications and set optimal operating conditions. Partnered with the production team to achieve > 90% cumulative yields on multiple products.

Cornell University

Master of Engineering - MEng

University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business

Master of Business Administration - MBA

University of California, Berkeley

Bachelor of Science - BS