History, capabilities, and management of Merit Sensor

History

For 30 years we have been supplying customers with accurate and reliable MEMS piezoresistive pressure sensors. Here’s a quick recap of our history:

In 1991 Fred Lampropoulos, Chairman and CEO of Merit Medical Systems, founded Sentir Semiconductor. The company’s first pressure sensor was qualified for production in 1993, and in 1997 the company’s annual sensor sales surpassed 1 million.

In 1999 Sentir Semiconductor was vertically integrated with Merit Medical, and in 2002 the name Sentir Semiconductor was changed to Merit Sensor Systems. In 2004 the building of a new and improved facility on the Merit Medical campus commenced, including a class 100 (ISO 5) cleanroom for wafer fabrication, commonly known in the industry as a fab.

Today, Merit Sensor continues to provide pressure sensors to its parent company. However, Merit Sensor serves many other customers from various industries around the world. With its own wafer fab and calibration equipment on site, Merit Sensor has been able to support a wide variety of market demands.

Whether the industry be transportation, industrial, medical, aerospace, or consumer, Merit Sensor provides products for accurate and reliable measurement of pressure.

Careers

Merit Sensor Systems, Inc., an Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V, is a dynamic, progressive, and innovative company. Our culture is highly energetic, family-friendly, values its employees, and promotes them as a standard business practice. We are located in South Jordan, Utah. Our campus is 20 minutes from the Salt Lake International Airport and from Salt Lake City’s contemporary downtown. Serving as a backdrop for the nearly 8-acre facility are the spectacular Wasatch Mountains, home to several world-famous ski resort destinations. Our employees enjoy many on-site benefits, including a healthcare clinic, two restaurant-quality cafés, an employee garden, and walking paths. Interested in joining our team? Apply today!

Current Openings

Engineer I
Performs routine technical work such as the design, manufacture and operation of structures, machines and systems under general supervision and guidelines.

Capabilities

We design and manufacture MEMS silicon dies that measure pressure from 0 to 15,000 psi in sensing environments from -40 to 150 °C. Our pressure-sensor dies are available in absolute, gauge, vacuum, and diferential configurations.

We also design and manufacture various pressure-sensor packages for integration into the applications of our customers. Some examples of our packaged sensors are the fully compensated TR Series, ideal for mass production in the automotive industry; the passively compensated BP Series, ideal for the room-temperature environment of medical devices; and the uncompensated RS Series, ideal for soldering and later calibrating on a control board.

In addition to our standard products designed for various applications, we also customize products to meet the specific needs of our customers (e.g., sensitivity, resistance, calibration). If the requirements are feasible and the NRE payment is sufficient, we will work closely with those customers who require a customized sensor.

Having a wafer fab on site allows us to closely monitor and control our processes and ensure that high-quality parts are produced.* All of our products are RoHS, REACH, and AEC-Q100 compliant. We are also certified to ISO 9001:2015 (quality management system) and ISO 14001:2015 (environmental management system). Even if issues do arise, we are committed to quality and customer service. We will provide our customers with solutions.

*Mission Statement: Merit Sensor Systems will design and manufacture quality products, specifically silicon-based sensors and micromachined components for the OEM and private label market. This will be accomplished by market focus, education, innovation, quality, and service.

Management

Rick E. Russell | President

Rick joined Merit Sensor in October of 2009 where he managed worldwide sales and business development until he became President of the group in 2013. He brings many years of organizational management and technical expertise in the area of MEMS silicon fabrication. With more than 25 years of experience managing sales to product development across multiple industries, his knowledge has enabled him to expand the operations to accommodate a number of new customers in their state-of-the-art wafer fab located in Salt Lake City.

Rick studied mathematics and computer science at Eastern Michigan University and received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical-Engineering from Lawrence Technological University.

Shiva Pallinti | Director of Engineering for Silicon Wafers & Dies

Shiva joined Merit Sensor in 2006 as an intern and soon became a process engineer, where he was an integral part of transferring the company’s wafer fab from California to the current facility in Utah. During his time with the company, he has also worked as a new-product-development engineer and engineering manager. He played a major role in the successful establishment of an on-site production line for 150 mm (6-inch) wafers. In his current role as director of engineering he oversees the company’s wafer fab and works closely with customers on design inputs for MEMS silicon wafers and dies.

Shiva holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from India and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Utah.

Chase Winegar | Director of Engineering for Assembled Products

Chase joined Merit Sensor in 2009 as an engineering intern and soon became a process engineer. After three years as a process engineer, he transitioned into the manager of quality. He has been instrumental in improving the company’s quality systems and procedures. He is now the director of engineering over Merit Sensor’s assembled products.

Chase received a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Utah and an MBA from the University of Utah, David Eccles School of Business.

Aaron Olson, Manager of Operations

Aaron Olson | Operations

Aaron joined Merit Sensor after working for more than 10 years with IM Flash Technologies as an engineer and senior program manager. He is responsible for all Merit Sensor operations that pertain to production, purchasing, planning, logistics, scrap/lean, and maintenance engineering.

Aaron is a certified Program Management Professional (PMP) with a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Brigham Young University. He also holds master’s degrees in industrial engineering and business administration (MBA), both from Arizona State University.

Gary Johns | Quality

Gary joined Merit Sensor in 2006 as an engineering intern and soon thereafter became a process engineer. He has worked in the wafer fab and wafer dicing areas and has been involved with several projects in the sensor-assembly area as well. In his current role he manages all aspects of quality assurance for the company.

Gary received both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Brigham Young University.

Scott R. Sidwell | Sales & Business Development for the Americas

Scott joined Merit Sensor in September of 2003. Before joining Merit Sensor, he worked in a variety of engineering roles with semiconductor companies, such as ON Semiconductor and Motorola. In his current role he works closely with customers to provide pressure-sensing solutions and technical support.

Scott received a chemical-engineering degree and MBA from Brigham Young University. He speaks Spanish and enjoys volunteering his time. His office is located on the Merit Medical campus in South Jordan, Utah.

Luca Salmaso | Sales & Business Development for EMEA, Russia, and India

Luca joined Merit Sensor in December of 2013. He has many years of experience in the pressure-measurement industry, especially managing worldwide sales. He has also led an engineering department, where he dealt with packaging processes, piezoresistive and capacitive technologies on ceramic, and applications in automotive, industrial, and medical industries.

Luca received an engineering degree in microelectronics at the Technological University of Yverdon-Les-Bains in Switzerland. He enjoys travelling and is fluent in 4 languages: German, French, English, and Italian. His office is located at the World Trade Center in Lugano, Switzerland.

Eddie Ma | Sales & Business Development for APAC

Eddie joined Merit Sensor in September 2018. He brought with him many years of experience selling electronic components in the APAC region and managing distribution channels in China. He has worked closely with distributors and key customers from multinational corporations to develop customized solutions and provide technical support.

Eddie received an engineering degree in mechatronics engineering from City University of Hong Kong and a master’s degree in automation and computer-aided engineering from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His office is located at the Merit Medical facility in Hong Kong.

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