By: Leah Pemberton, Sharon Sopp and Rachael Tiehel

Walking through the halls of Northrop Grumman's Apopka facility, you will be hard pressed to find a space not influenced by Lesley Cheema. Lesley's 30 years of experience in semiconductor engineering has positioned her well as the mentor, innovator and connector she is today.

Spend a few minutes talking to her and you can't help but hear the passion in Lesley's voice and feel the pride she has in her work. Lesley joined Northrop Grumman in 2020 and was hired to stand up the Advanced Packaging Micro-Line (μ-Line) in Apopka, Fla. which, in support of the Northrop Grumman Microelectronics Center (NGMC), assembles, processes and packages microelectronic components from wafers, developing the specific microchip needed for future assembly. She is passionate about that aspect of her work, but her dedication to the company, and commitment to personal and professional growth has opened many more doors of opportunity. Today she is a cornerstone of the Apopka facility and it’s culture.

Bringing Quality to Life

Keeping the company’s interests in mind, while maximizing resources on the μ-Line, Lesley knew Northrop Grumman would benefit greatly from an automated, efficient way to check the quality of our work using a tool called Automated Optical Inspection (AOI).

“With AOI, we have our own secure process to internally inspect and assemble wafers – for any product or platform – at a rate that is nearly half the time compared to external vendors," said Lesley.

While AOI is not a new technology (it has been used to examine products in commercial foundries for several years), Northrop Grumman is the first defense contractor or domestic microelectronics packaging facility to use it to ensure the quality of its microchips.

The AOI platform uses a 2D and 3D camera system to inspect for defects of every tiny solder bump and each microchip on a wafer – about 400 chips and includes more than 300,000 bumps – before the wafer leaves the facility and moves to the next level of assembly. It's not uncommon to have a few faulty chips on a wafer, but quality on each of these matters a great deal – each wafer is worth tens of thousands of dollars, so identifying defects early drives the team to the root cause, ultimately saving Northrop Grumman customers money.

With AOI monitoring and sampling 100% of each chip, the team provides a comprehensive report that identifies any defective chips on the wafer, so workers at the next stage of production know immediately which chips they can use. Previously, random chip inspection required engineers to use a microscope and examine each chip individually, which took many staff hours and did not catch all defects.

“When our colleagues around the enterprise get their chips from us, they know they won't have to do any rework at the next level," said Lesley. “That level of quality makes all the difference."

When Lesley isn't overseeing production, she is making connections across the enterprise to ensure everyone knows what the NGMC can provide; allowing our programs to bring products to market at speed, ultimately meeting our customer's need for secure, resilient and mission-tailored microelectronics solutions.

Cultivating our Culture

Lesley's passion to connect and help others is one of the reasons she volunteered to mentor summer interns at the Apopka site. “It is so fun for me to share my knowledge about semiconductors and to spark interest in a career that interns haven't considered before," said Lesley. Her personal and professional worlds merged this year when her son, Sean, became one of those interns.

“I didn't work directly with my mom, but she was a stakeholder in one of my main projects. It was cool to see her in that setting and receive her constructive feedback to improve my project. I can confidently speak for the whole intern group when I say that she cared deeply about seeing all of us succeed and helped wherever she could," said Sean.

Lesley's passion and pride for her work spill over into all facets of her life. She brings fresh ideas to the company, whether it's hosting chair yoga for her colleagues, bringing in the latest technology to drive quality, or mentoring interns to inspire the next generation of engineers. Lesley is building a culture where all employees can thrive, personally and professionally.

Learn more about Northrop Grumman’s microelectronics leadership, or explore what life’s like working at Northrop Grumman.