I work in the mask house for IBM Microelectronics. That doesn't mean a whole lot without knowing what a mask is, so here is a brief explanation. A mask is much like what a negative is to a photograph. When you want to build a computer chip you create what is called a photomask. It is a glass plate that has the design pattern for one level of a chip on it. The chip manufacturers take the mask and shoot a laser or electron beam through it, and the pattern is etched onto a photoreactive substance. After this is done for several different layers, you have a chip!

My job is as a process/product engineer. Before the chips can actually be built, there is a lot of data manipulation and design work that takes place. Designers send over the data which maps out how to build the chip, but often there are last minute changes or small problems that arise. It is my job to be sure that these changes are still manufacturable and that any problems are worked out before building the mask. This may include visual inspections of chip data, working with customers or just making sure that certain processes were followed correctly.