ASML systems engineer awarded first ECP2 Silver certificate

When Buket Şahin was doing her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in Istanbul, she joined the solar car and Formula SAE teams of her university. A decision that quickly made her realize the limitations of her knowledge. It put her on a lifelong track to learn about fields different from her own.

“That’s when it all started,” Şahin recalls. “I saw how necessary it was to learn about other disciplines. I knew the mechanical domain well, but suddenly, I had to work with, for example, electrical engineers. I couldn’t understand what they were talking about, and I really wanted to.”

Şahin eventually graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s in mechatronics, besides doing an MBA. She first worked as a systems engineer in the Turkish defense industry, before making the transfer to ASML in 2012. She started in Development & Engineering on the NXT and NXE platforms. Currently, she works as a product safety systems engineer for ASML’s EUV machines.

During that journey, she persistently sought out new knowledge, taking a score of courses in fields such as electronics, optics and mechatronics. At the end of 2024, she became the first person to achieve the ECP2 Silver certificate. ECP2 is the European certified precision engineering program that emerged from a collaboration between Euspen and DSPE. To receive the certificate, she had to take 35 points worth of ECP2-certified courses. “It wasn’t my goal,” she says, laughingly, “but in the end, it turned out I was the first one to get it.”

Helicopter view

In her position at ASML, Şahin combines systems engineering with a view on safety. “We’re responsible for the whole EUV machine from a safety point of view,” she notes. “This includes internal and external alignment, overseeing the program and managing engineers and architects.” The team in which she works comprises hundreds of people, with a core of around fifteen systems engineers. One of those has a safety-specific systems engineering role, such as the one she fulfills.

Taking that wider systems perspective, which combines different fields, is something Şahin likes very much. It allows her to put into practice the different things she learned throughout her career. “I have broad interests,” she says. “I like all kinds of subfields of science and engineering. In systems engineering, I can pursue that curiosity. That’s also the reason why I like learning and taking courses so much. As a systems engineer, you need to know a complex system and the technical background of the parts. You need to be able to dig deeper into the design. You need to be able to dive into the different disciplines but at the same time maintain a helicopter view. Keeping that balance is something I like very much.”

NASA handbook

Şahin started taking courses as soon as she landed at ASML. She realized she had to expand her knowledge beyond what her degrees had taught her. “They were very theoretical,” she admits. “They weren’t very applied. R&D in Turkey isn’t as mature as it is in the Netherlands, particularly for semiconductors. In the Netherlands, there’s a very good interaction between universities and industry. I wanted to gain that hands-on knowledge. So I started with courses in mechatronics and electronics. Then I wanted to learn about optics, a very relevant field when you work at ASML. I just continued from there.”

Curiosity is a driving force for Şahin. “Some courses I took because I needed the knowledge in my work, but others were out of curiosity. I wanted to develop myself and learn new things. The courses allowed me to do that.”

Interestingly, Şahin didn’t take any courses on systems engineering. “I was mainly looking to gain a deeper knowledge in various technical disciplines,” she recalls. “My first job was as a systems engineer, but the way the role is defined in different companies varies heavily. Systems engineers in the semiconductor industry require knowledge of the different subfields of the industry. An ASML machine is also very complex, so you really need to update what you know. Things can change fast, and you need to stay up to date. That’s why learning is such a big part of my career.”

Şahin did learn how to be a systems engineer within ASML, both by learning on the job and by taking internal courses. “There are internal ASML systems engineering trainings,” she points out. “That’s why I didn’t need external courses. Also, I learned about the field from the NASA Systems Engineering Handbook back in Turkey. That’s also the methodology ASML uses.”

Hands-on knowledge

When Şahin looks back on all the courses she’s taken since she moved to the Netherlands, it’s the practical ones that stand out. “The most important thing I learned was applied knowledge,” she says. “Going to university taught me the theory, but it’s the day-to-day insights that are important. I particularly like it when courses teach you rules of thumb, pragmatic approaches and examples from the industry itself. That’s the key knowledge for me. It particularly helps when the instructors are from the industry, so they can show us what they worked on themselves.”

Since 2012, learning has also become easier. “When I started, there weren’t as many learning structures to guide you. Today, High Tech Institute, for example, has an easy-to-access course list. In 2012, however, I had to do much more research. Courses weren’t advertised as much and they were only in Dutch. I had to ask colleagues and find out for myself. If I had to start today, things would be much easier.”

At ASML, they’re happy about Şahin’s new certification and the hunger she shows to learn new things. “My managers have always supported me,” she says. “We define development goals and select the training that allows me to achieve those targets. If it helps you achieve your goal, it’s very easy to take courses when you’re working at ASML.”

Şahin is still far from done. For her, learning never stops. “I just started a master’s program at the KU Leuven. It’s an advanced master’s in safety engineering, connected to my position at ASML. My short-term goal is to complete it. After that, I want to continue my career here at ASML as a systems engineer. Learning, however, is a goal in itself for me, whether it’s connected to my job or not.”

This article was written in close collaboration with High Tech Institute.