Alumna Harshala Patil leads semiconductor development at Samsung
Alumna Harshala Patil ’15 (electrical and microelectronic engineering) is leading semiconductor development and manufacturing initiatives at Samsung Austin, one of the top three global computer chip fabrication organizations.

Alumna Harshala Patil ’15 (electrical and microelectronic engineering) is leading semiconductor development and manufacturing initiatives at Samsung Austin, one of the top three global computer chip fabrication organizations.
Patil, who began her career in semiconductor development while a graduate student at RIT, is contributing to the global and national drive to produce today’s advanced semiconductors.
“Because so many applications today require state-of-the-art semiconductors, this is an exciting field to work in, and the CHIPS Act gives hope to everyone working in American semiconductor fabrication,” she stated recently in an article in the December 2024 issue of IEEE Women in Engineering.
Patil came to RIT in 2013, participating in coursework, clean room activities as well as internship experiences for her master’s degree. She acknowledged the depth of the program as well as the mentoring provided by some of the department’s most experienced faculty with inspiring her to further pursue a career in microelectronics.
Her career options began with recognized tech leaders, first at Global Foundries and later at Micron Technology as a process integration engineer, leading teams in the complex and integrated procedures for wafer fabrication.
She’d bring these skills and experiences to her current role as senior quality and reliability engineer at Samsung Semiconductor. Since joining the company in 2021, Patil led numerous cross-functional projects in CMOS and photonic device fabrication. As a technology transfer engineer, she was among the leaders that set up and qualified the production lines when the company built its latest high tech fab in Texas.
Women in engineering leadership roles are increasing, and Patil is a role model within her company and as a mentor in her local and professional communities. As a female semiconductor engineer in a highly visible leadership role, she is committed to both advancing the industry and in making significant contributions to Samsung.
According to industry experts, by the end of the decade, the semiconductor industry could potentially be a $1 trillion per year market with the need to fulfill positions from research and development to process engineering and manufacturing.
The Chips Act is incentivizing companies and universities. RIT is reaping the benefits of the act through funding to advance research, manufacturing processes and workforce development, building upon an established program that began more than 40 years ago.
Undergraduate and graduate students like Patil acquire the significant hands-on skills across the semiconductor development process—from design and processing, fabrication and testing to manufacturing and advanced electronics packaging.