Susan Stapleton Email Address

Vice President of Engineering Processes and Systems

Veeco's process equipment solutions enable the manufacture of LEDs, flexible OLED displays, solar cells, power electronics, hard drives, MEMS and wireless chips. We are the market leader in LED, MBE, Ion Beam and other advanced thin film process technologies. Our high performance systems drive innovation in energy efficiency, consumer electronics and network storage and allow our customers to maximize productivity and achieve lower cost of ownership.

Efficient, effective new product development is critical to the growth and success of companies. Developing and releasing successful new products requires technical capability, innovation, understanding of customer and market needs, solid engineering, talented and motivated teams, leadership, and processes and systems to guide and facilitate development, and to ensure that the product can be manufactured and supported. As VP of Engineering Processes & Systems, I provide process, systems, training, coaching and mentoring to help facilitate product development across all Veeco divisions and product lines. It is critical to have a strong, but flexible, Product Life Cycle (PLC) process, efficient and effective Design Reviews, solid Documentation Control, Product Data Management (PDM) & Change Management processes, and capable program managers, to turn innovative concepts into successful products. I feel strongly, however, that it is imperative to remember that companies ship products, not processes, and that processes should facilitate and guide, not dictate. I received a BSME from MIT and a Master’s in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Virginia, which together provided me a foundation in mechanical, electrical, and systems engineering that has served me throughout my career. I returned to school and earned a Master’s in Technology Management while working full time in product development, providing me with a broader understanding of business and a foundation for being a better leader. Throughout my career , I have successfully participated in and led multi-disciplinary engineering and product development teams for capital equipment products used in metrology, thin film, MEMs and semiconductor applications, before taking on my current role. Outside of work, I am committed to helping the next generation of engineers find their passion, and bring physics and engineering to life for them, by leading of STEM workshops for middle school children.