Hi, I'm Darshan Shah 👋

I automate the furnaces that grow crystals.

I'm a Controls and Automation Engineer specializing in industrial equipment reliability, PLC/HMI development, safety systems, and manufacturing automation.

At Onsemi, I support and improve complex semiconductor manufacturing equipment, taking ownership of controls development, troubleshooting, commissioning, and production reliability. My work spans hundreds of industrial systems, from resolving critical equipment failures to delivering automation upgrades and cross-functional engineering projects.

I enjoy solving difficult equipment problems and building reliable, safe, and maintainable manufacturing systems.

See what I've built LinkedIn GitHub
Darshan Shah smiling outdoors in front of mountains
Furnace overview · career summary Running
FT101 TT102 PT103 M GAS IN EXHAUST COIL PEDESTAL
Furnace fleet100sof furnaces supported
Equipment support24/7tier-3 escalation point
Unplanned shutdowns15%reduced
Machine incidents25%reduced
Escalations~90%closed same day

Illustration only.

What I've built

Selected projects: the challenge, my engineering approach, and the outcome.

01Fleet-wide controls and reliability upgrades

Onsemi · Role: Led · Scope: Fleet-wideIn service

Challenge

Keeping hundreds of production furnaces running consistently, with recurring faults causing unplanned shutdowns.

Engineering approach

Led two control system upgrades across the fleet, standardizing PLC logic and adding safety interlocks and automated recipe validation. I give day-to-day technical direction to four technicians and an equipment engineer.

Outcome

Unplanned shutdowns fell 15% and recurring production faults fell 10% across the fleet.

Core competenciesPLC ProgrammingEquipment UpgradesSafety InterlocksStandardization

02Automated equipment safeguards and failure prevention

Onsemi · Role: Designed and built · Scope: Fleet-wideIn service

Challenge

Production equipment experienced interrupted runs when machine operating limits and process configurations became inconsistent, resulting in avoidable downtime and manufacturing losses.

Engineering approach

Developed PLC-based validation logic to identify configuration mismatches before equipment operation. Implemented automated motion recovery and return-to-home functionality to improve operational consistency and reduce the risk of interrupted production cycles.

Outcome

Eliminated a recurring source of process interruptions, improving equipment reliability and reducing avoidable production losses.

Core competenciesPLC ProgrammingEquipment ReliabilityMotion ControlFailure PreventionRoot-Cause Analysis

03R&D equipment controls and commissioning

Onsemi R&D · Role: Owned controls · Scope: One new furnaceIn service

Challenge

The R&D team needed a new experimental furnace that runs a flammable process gas. Safety had to come first.

Engineering approach

I owned the controls work. I built the PLC logic and HMI, built closed-loop PID gas control, designed gas-detection safety interlocks and fail-safes, and helped the team commission the furnace. I also worked with the fire department. Gas safety limits for the area came from an independent third-party assessment.

Outcome

No control defects found in commissioning or production runs, and the project came in on time and under budget.

Core competenciesPLC/HMI DevelopmentPID ControlGas SafetyCommissioning

04Manufacturing execution system integration

Onsemi · Corporate initiative · Role: Controls lead on a cross-team project · Scope: Every furnaceIn service

Challenge

Recipes were moved onto each machine by hand, and several versions existed, so the wrong one could get loaded. Corporate asked for a fix.

Engineering approach

I built the controls side with the MOS team and process engineering, integrating the PLC and HMI with MES so each run automatically gets the approved recipe from a single controlled source.

Outcome

It runs on every furnace in the fleet, with one source of truth for recipes.

Core competenciesPLC/MES IntegrationHMIStandardizationCross-Team Delivery

05Alarm management and fault diagnostics

Onsemi · Role: Designed and built · Scope: Fleet-wideIn service

Challenge

Production support depends on alarms that point people to the right problem quickly, and on data that shows why equipment faults keep coming back.

Engineering approach

Reworked alarm classification, escalation and trending, and built SQL tools for thermocouple and OEE analysis to support data-driven troubleshooting.

Outcome

Machine-related incidents fell 25%, and about 90% of escalated issues are resolved the same day.

Core competenciesAlarm ManagementFault DiagnosticsSQLOEE

More work

  • Role-based HMI accessReplaced shared machine logins with individual, role-based access across the fleet.Onsemi
  • Duplicate run ID fixSolved recurring duplicate run ID issues by automating the correction with the MOS team, removing 4 hours of manual rework per incident.Onsemi
  • X-ray imaging furnaceProgrammed the safety interlocks around an in-situ X-ray system that images the crystal while it grows.Onsemi R&D
  • Moving-coil furnaceWorked on the controls for a moving heating coil and a rotating pedestal.Onsemi R&D
  • Production waste sensorSourced, installed and commissioned a sensor to measure gypsum board length and edge thickness, put live readings on a WinCC HMI, and delivered it end to end in 9 weeks.CertainTeed
  • Sensor spares inventoryBuilt a site-wide inventory of Endress+Hauser instruments so failed sensors could be identified and replaced quickly, cutting time to restore equipment.CertainTeed

Where I've worked

From production lines to crystal growth furnaces.

  1. Jun 2023 – Present
    Software Controls Engineer II, OnsemiHudson, New Hampshire. PLC, HMI and safety systems for silicon carbide crystal growth furnaces, 24/7 furnace and equipment support, and building management system (BMS) support. Technical lead for four technicians and an equipment engineer.
  2. May 2022 – Aug 2022
    Controls Engineer Intern, CertainTeed (Saint-Gobain)North Carolina. Sensor projects, PLC integration and MES work on a gypsum board line.
  3. Jan 2021 – Dec 2022
    MS, Robotics and Autonomous Systems (Electrical Engineering)Arizona State University, Tempe.
  4. Jan 2020 – Oct 2020
    Volunteer, Make-A-Wish IndiaIndia.
  5. Jul 2019 – Nov 2019
    R&D Intern, J.C. Bamford Excavators Limited (JCB)Pune, India.
  6. Jul 2015 – May 2019
    BTech, Mechatronics EngineeringNMIMS, Mumbai.
Certifications Rockwell CCP251 · Advanced Logix5000 Programmer Rockwell CCP299 · Studio 5000 Logix Designer Level 1

Engineering capabilities

What I bring to an equipment team, with the tools behind each.

Industrial automation

Allen-Bradley / Rockwell PLCsStudio 5000 / RSLogix 5000Ladder LogicStructured TextPID tuningBuilding management systems (BMS)

Equipment commissioning

Controls integrationStartupTroubleshootingValidationI/O checkout

Equipment reliability

Root-cause analysisFault diagnosticsDowntime reductionAlarm managementOEE analysis

Industrial safety

Safety interlocksFail-safe logicGas detectionEquipment risk reduction

HMI and manufacturing data

AVEVA InTouch MEWonderwareWinCCVBScript (HMI scripting)SQLHistorianMES integration

Electrical and instrumentation

AutoCAD Electrical4–20 mA (HART)0–5 V / 0–10 VEtherNet/IPModbusRS-232 / RS-485EtherCATDeviceNetControlNetI2C

Robotics and motion

Motion control (AMCI, lift axes)Yaskawa robot programming (academic)SCARA robot programming (academic)

Also used

PythonC / C++MATLAB / SimulinkOpenCVSolidWorks PDMPower Automate

Half my job is PLCs and interlocks. The other half is translating between people and machines.

A bit about me

Process engineers come to me with questions like "what happens if we change this?" I help them answer that before they commit to a run. Then I build the control logic that makes the answer happen.

I have an MS in Robotics and Autonomous Systems from Arizona State University and a BTech in Mechatronics from NMIMS in Mumbai. When I'm not at work, you'll find me out hiking or color-grading video.

Let's talk.

Hiring for a controls or automation role, or just curious about crystal growth? I'd love to hear from you. Email is the quickest way to reach me.

darshanshah6972@gmail.com
LinkedIn: darshanshah98 GitHub: darshan6998