A Journey That Built a Leader: Darius Seng’s Rise with AT&S

What does it take to grow from a Test Manager to a Senior Director of Operations in one of the world’s most advanced technology companies? Darius Seng’s journey through continents, cultures, and cutting-edge technologies offers inspiring insights into leadership, adaptability, and lifelong learning. His story is a testament to the power of persistence and proactive growth – read on to find out how he helped shape AT&S from the ground up.

Meet Darius Seng, our Senior Director of Operations at AT&S Malaysia. Read on as he takes us through his career journey and experience with AT&S.

Darius graduated from the prestigious Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore with a Bachelor’s in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, which launched him into the world of semiconductor and substrate manufacturing, beyond the shores of Singapore.

When opportunity knocked 20 years ago, he embarked on a life-changing journey in China – particularly with AT&S. He first started at the Shanghai plant before moving to the Chongqing plant.

As he recounts, “I joined AT&S Shanghai in 2011 as a Test Department Manager. Shortly after I joined the company, I was given an opportunity to undertake a 6-month on-the-job training on substrate technology in Arizona, US. I must admit that the training on an unprecedented substrate technology had offered me some new and exciting experiences professionally and personally. I remain thankful for the training at the customer’s plant and still remember them till today. After the training, I became a part of the pioneer team at AT&S Chongqing to produce substrates.”

This all happened when substrates began making their significant entry into the semiconductor world. Darius acknowledged that this phase of his career was crucial and transformational. It has certainly shaped the subsequent chapters of his professional life.

With the substrate knowledge that he acquired from the US, and as one of the seed employees in Chongqing at the time, Darius had to train the fresh engineers at the Chongqing plant in substrate manufacturing. He admitted that it was difficult—not only transferring the new technology but also working with Chinese-speaking colleagues, when he had lived and worked his entire life in an English-speaking environment. To which he describes:

“For me, conversing in Chinese language and understanding what my team members said, at that time, was a daily communication challenge that I had to overcome to train them well. However, I strongly believe that nothing was and is impossible.”

With that, he not only overcame the language barrier but also successfully completed the technology transfer by equipping his team with the necessary technological know-how. The success was further demonstrated by AT&S’s ability not only to deliver efficient production but also remarkable technological development – enabling the company to become a reliable supply chain player for the world’s renowned chipmaker.

Working for a provider of advanced technology solutions such as AT&S, Darius was convinced that he was fortunate to have the opportunity to engage with some high-profile customers, albeit it was extremely challenging to meet their expectations. However, through enormous and persistent hard work, the trust of the customers – translated into increased business volume – has propelled the growth of the company. With such growth came confidence, and he became more convinced of his ability to lead the operations team in meeting both management and customer expectations.

Despite the demanding work life, Darius never ceased to upgrade himself. He went on to pursue a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Manchester, UK, to better equip himself with management knowledge for the future. His efforts have paid off.

Today, Darius holds the position of Senior Director of Operations at the AT&S Kulim campus. He focuses on developing a high-performing production team, which requires him to invest much of his time and effort in managing performance. He shares: “I see that effective communication plays a pivotal role in building a high-performing team to deliver the high expectation of customers. One thing that I always avoid at work is that we should not make assumptions. Instead, we should always communicate and seek to understand the expectations of our collaborators. This should help to optimize performance and hopefully with as minimal resources as possible. I am constantly guided by this principle in operation management. To achieve this, I daily spend a lot more of my time communicating and engaging with my managers.”

As the Kulim campus is set to become a major revenue contributor for the AT&S group, he believes that the work demands will intensify – especially with the introduction of new products and technologies. However, he always takes pride in how the Kulim team overcomes difficulties, especially during the initial qualification phase, when tool move-ins had to take place concurrently with construction works. Those were the days when he and his team stood shoulder to shoulder and worked around the clock to overcome challenges that had seemed impossible.

When asked about one piece of advice he would give his younger self, Darius shared:

“I would volunteer to take up more challenges during my early career days, without being asked or prompted.”

This made him recall how he was offered by his superior, Joseph Paton Ireland, the chance to step up and deliver a difficult work solution while in Chongqing, which he successfully executed. From this experience, he learned the value of proactivity in the workplace.

“To all the young engineers out there, it is important to stay curious and have the courage to explore and innovate. It takes proactivity and initiative to keep up with the pace of technology evolvement. We will reap the rewards. None but not least, I also see the pros of constantly engaging and communicating with customers and suppliers because they can be the source of valuable insights and solutions that we can’t be simply acquire from textbook or on-job training.”

Wordrap with Darius

Profile
Darius Seng
Senior Director Operations

Favourite Food
Japanese BBQ

Favourite Pastime
Relaxing by watching movies

Favourite Travel Destination
Singapore, because that’s home

Favourite Life Quote
“Ask and don’t assume.”