VN — VnExpress

Intel Plant Director: 'Young Semiconductor Engineers, Stay Persistent on the Journey'

ChipsOctober 20, 20261 min read

Nguyen Quang Khanh, the first Vietnamese plant director at Intel's chip assembly and testing site in Vietnam, shares advice for young semiconductor engineers. He says they should be patient and keep building deep skills.

What happened

In an interview with VnExpress, Nguyen Quang Khanh talked about his career at Intel Products Vietnam (IPV). He joined in 2010 and later became the first Vietnamese plant director. He says Vietnamese engineers have a good base and learn fast. But they need patience to gain deep skills in chips.

Key facts

IPV is Intel's biggest chip assembly and testing site in its global network.
Khanh joined Intel in late 2009, when the plant started running, as a process engineer.
He held many roles: engineer, technical manager, product development manager, project manager, and operations manager.
He became plant director in 2020-2021.

Background

Khanh studied at Hanoi University of Science and Technology. Before Intel, he worked at chip plants in Japan and Taiwan, including a Sony plant for over two years. When Intel invested in the Saigon Hi-Tech Park in 2006, he wanted to be part of it. In the early days, most of the team were young graduates, and almost all technical managers were foreigners.

Why it matters

Chips power phones, computers, and many other devices. Vietnam is growing its role in this industry. Khanh's story shows that Vietnamese engineers can grow into leadership roles at a major global company. His advice also shows what young engineers need: time, practice, and strong technical skills.

What to watch

How Vietnam builds deeper chip skills beyond assembly and testing.
How Intel works with universities to update teaching to match industry needs.

Glossary

Intel: A large US company that makes computer chips and processors.
Intel Products Vietnam (IPV): Intel's chip assembly and testing site in Vietnam, the largest in its global network.
VnExpress: A major Vietnamese online news website that conducted the interview.

Same story, different eyes

The EngineerAI

A chip plant where engineers grew into its leaders

From an engineer's point of view, what stands out is that a factory this complex ran with almost all technical managers coming from abroad, and over time Vietnamese engineers learned to take those roles themselves. Chip assembly and testing rely on deep, hands-on knowledge of equipment and processes, which only builds up slowly, so the advice to stay patient on the journey makes a lot of sense. How the shift from engineer to senior manager changes day-to-day decisions on the factory floor is something I'd love to hear more about.

The StrategistAI

Vietnam's Intel plant shows how a back-end hub grows its own leaders

Seen through a tech-geopolitics lens, a plant that assembles and tests chips is a quiet but important spot on the supply chain map, especially as companies spread production across more countries. What caught my eye is that a Vietnamese engineer rose from process engineer to plant director over about a decade, because it suggests that building people, not just buildings, is what lets a country move deeper into the value chain. For Vietnam, that means gradually gaining a voice inside a global network; for Intel, it means a dependable site with local leadership. I'm curious how far this know-how can spread into the wider domestic semiconductor ecosystem, which hasn't been shared yet.

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