About fab2

The fab2 team can build anything. We design all the hardware and software needed to make chips and we make the fabs, tools, and components ourselves.

We're looking for exceptional, hands-on people who can iterate to the limits of what's possible.

fab2 was founded by Sam Zeloof and Jim Keller. Sam is best known for making chips in his garage, and Jim has been a leader in the semiconductor industry for the past 40 years.

About the team

The fab2 production team manufactures chip fabs. From deposition and etching tools to lithography and metrology, we are building every tool ourselves. We fabricate the metal parts, operate SMT lines to build PCBAs, and assemble the tools in-house.

About the role

This role sits within the overall Production team. Given that sheet metal, tube bending, and TIG welding all feed each other on the cube, we are excited to be adding cross-trained flex operators who can run any of the fabrication cells as the daily mix shifts.

Responsibilities

Manual TIG welding on stainless gas-distribution tubing and Al/SS chamber weldments (Miller Dynasty 280 DX ×2)
Helium-leak-tight standards on vacuum-prep welds.
Trumpf TruLaser 1030 (4 kW fiber) operation: nesting, sheet loading, scrap handling, nozzle changes, beam calibration
Trumpf TruBend 5085 SX press brake setup and operation with ACB Laser closed-loop angle control
FINISHLINE 42" two-zone deburr operation
First-article inspection across welded, bent, and laser-cut parts; pre/post-weld cleaning to semi-grade standards

Required Experience

3+ years total experience across at least TWO of: TIG welding manual, sheet metal fabrication (laser + brake).
Strong TIG welding background — manual on Al and SS, can pass AWS D17.1 or equivalent quality bend tests
Reads weld symbols, flat patterns, and tube prints fluently
Comfortable being the kind of operator who runs a different machine each day

Nice-to-have

Strong proficiency with all three of: TIG + sheet metal + tube
Trumpf laser + brake specifically (or Bystronic / Mazak / Amada)
Welding Inspector certification (CWI)
TruTops Boost or T PROJECT programming
Robotic / cobot weld cell familiarity (UR + Miller Copilot)

Working at fab2
We’re an early-stage hardware startup with solid funding, world-class advisors, and labs/offices in Austin, TX, Lockhart, TX, and San Francisco, CA.

Benefits: fab2 offers the following benefits, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:

Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance
Generous Paid Time Off inclusive of Holidays and Sick Time
Visa Sponsorship
Life and Disability Insurance
Paid Parental Leave
401(k) retirement plan
Weekly Learning & Development opportunities
Commuter Benefits including Parking and Late Night Uber rides from the office
Lunches daily, Dinners 3x per week, Stocked Office Kitchen with Snacks and Spindrifts

We are an equal-opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability or other legally protected statuses.

Export Control Analysis: This position involves access to technology that is subject to U.S. export controls. Any job offer made will be contingent upon the applicant’s capacity to serve in compliance with U.S. export controls.

fab2, formerly known as Atomic Semi

About the company

Fab2 designs and sells miniaturized, fully integrated fabrication plants called “fab fabs” that include all necessary tooling built in-house for rapid prototyping and small-batch chip production. It is also building Studio, a browser-based collaborative EDA tool for chip layout, schematic, and simulation to create an end-to-end design-to-fabrication pipeline. The company differentiates itself by providing in-house manufactured equipment and a modular factory setup, enabling development cycles measured in hours rather than months and focusing on quick-turnaround prototyping. Fab2 aims to democratize chip creation by making smaller-scale fabrication accessible to researchers, hobbyists, and small teams.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Series A

Total Funding

$500M

Headquarters

Austin, Texas

Founded

2023

Get referred to Fab2

See people who can refer or advise you

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

The September 9, 2026 $500M Series A gives Fab2 deep cash for expansion.
Austin filings show $3.9M warehouse renovations finishing February 2027, signaling active deployment.
Texas relocation concentrates hiring and manufacturing near cheaper space, permitting, and industrial policy support.

What critics are saying

September 2026's $3.7B valuation prices enormous execution; missed milestones crush follow-on financing.
Fab2 still lacks disclosed revenue, yields, customer volume, or shipped-fab counts as of September 2026.
Competing 300mm foundries and captive fabs can outspend Fab2 before its Texas buildout scales.

What makes Fab2 unique

Sam Zeloof and Jim Keller combine chipmaking hardware, fab automation, and Studio EDA.
Fab2's July 2026 rebrand centers a 'fab fab' that manufactures mini-fabs in-house.
Austin, Lockhart, and San Francisco sites create an integrated prototype-to-tooling loop.

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Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Parental Leave
401(k) Retirement Plan
Life Insurance
Disability Insurance
Commuter Benefits
Professional Development Budget
Company Equity

Growth & Insights and Company News

6 month growth

1 year growth

2 year growth

-4%

Frontrun

Sep 9th, 2026

Fundraise receipts - september 9th: latitude, Split Pay, Fab2, Lightfield.

Fundraise receipts - september 9th: latitude, Split Pay, Fab2, Lightfield. tl;dr: frontrun flagged latitude on april 2 2026, 160 days before the company announced a $35M series A led by Oak HC/FT, bringing total funding to $43M. frontrun flagged Split Pay on may 19 2026, 112 days before the company announced $125M across a Series A and Series B, both led by Khosla Ventures with Thrive Capital and Max Levchin. founders Andrew Borovsky and Andrew Lin. frontrun flagged Fab2 on june 5 2026, 95 days before the company announced a $500M Series A led by Protagonist at a $3.7B valuation. founders Sam Zeloof and Jim Keller. a tracked account at a16z followed Lightfield on july 28 2026, 43 days before a16z led the company's $47M Series A with Maverick Capital, Coatue, Greylock, Lightspeed, Audacious and Alumni Ventures. founder and CEO Keith Peiris. Latitude: $35M series A, flagged 160 days early. FUNDRAISE |: @frontrunvc flagged @rtp on April 2nd. 160 days later: $35M Series A led by @oakhcft, $43M raised to date. latitude builds global payment infrastructure: fiat payouts and stablecoin on and off ramps with real-time settlement, running on the latitude liquidity network. the founding team came out of stripe, coinbase, uber and zero hash. flagged april 2 2026, announced september 9 2026. 160 days. 20 tracked accounts were already following @rtp before the round surfaced. oak hc/ft led the $35m series a. $43m raised to date. Split Pay: $125M Series A and B, flagged 112 days early. frontrun flagged Split Pay on may 19 2026, at 749 followers. on september 8 2026, 112 days later, Axios reported that Split Pay had raised $125M across back to back Series A and Series B rounds, both led by Khosla Ventures, joined by Thrive Capital and Max Levchin. the company had raised a $15M seed in 2023 before that. Split Pay (@splitpay), formerly Rent App, splits rent and mortgage payments into smaller instalments so renters and homeowners get financial breathing room. founded by Andrew Borovsky (CEO) and Andrew Lin, based in Miami. source: Split Pay raises $125 million for rent and mortgage lending. follow from the front. frontrun.vc Fab2: $500M Series A, flagged 95 days early. frontrun flagged Fab2 on june 5 2026. on september 8 2026, 95 days later, Fab2 announced a $500M Series A led by Protagonist, at a $3.7B valuation per the company's own post. 17 tracked accounts were following it by announcement, and a tracked account at Protagonist followed @fab2 on august 19, 20 days before the firm led the round. Fab2 (@fab2), formerly Atomic Semi, builds the hardware and software needed to make chips, fabs, tools and components, with the goal of printing chips and printing fabs. founded by Sam Zeloof (@szeloof) and chip architect Jim Keller, based in Austin. source: Protagonist on the $500M Series A. follow from the front. frontrun.vc Lightfield: $47M Series A, a16z followed 43 days early. a tracked account at a16z followed Lightfield on july 28 2026. on september 9 2026, 43 days later, a16z led Lightfield's $47M Series A, with Maverick Capital, Coatue, Greylock, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Audacious and Alumni Ventures participating. the fund that followed first is the fund that led. Lightfield (@lightfld), formerly Tome, is rebuilding the CRM for companies that run on agents: a world model of a business assembled from calls, emails and messages, rather than a database of manual notes. founder and CEO Keith Peiris (@keithpeiris). source: Lightfield raises $47 million Series A. follow from the front. frontrun.vc these already happened. the useful list is the one where the round or the launch has not happened yet. frontrun watches the follow graphs of 2,000+ tracked venture investors on X and flags the companies they converge on, with a date, the morning it happens. see the signal this article is built on frontrun tracks the follow graphs of 2,000+ venture investors and flags companies months before rounds are announced. companies and founders surfaced on frontrun. curated, every week.

Fab2

Welder-Fabricator - Flex Operator

About the job