Austin, TX

Samsung Employee Describes Decades of Commitment to the U.S. and Texas

Published

2 years ago

February 19, 2024

Samsung Employee Describes Decades of Commitment to the U.S. and Texas

In 2021, Samsung Austin Semiconductor announced the construction of a new semiconductor fabrication facility in Taylor, Texas. The project is the second of its kind in Texas — with the first being in Austin. To a longtime employee such as Rafael Lainez, Director of Manufacturing Engineering at Samsung Austin Semiconductor, the new fabrication plant is the latest indication of Samsung’s longtime commitment to the U.S. For Lainez, much has changed over the years at Samsung. Despite the many changes Lainez has witnessed, however, some things have remained the same: Samsung’s commitment to being a proud U.S. employer and a good neighbor and upstanding corporate citizen of Central Texas and its dedication to serving the local community.

A Samsung Employee Since 1997

In 1997, Rafael Lainez started his career at Samsung at the Austin campus. Lainez recalls that as he drove an hour and a half from his home in San Antonio, he was excited to begin his first day of work and that the environment at Samsung was immediately welcoming. “When I got to the office, I was lucky in the sense that I had friends waiting for me and ready to show me around,” he said.

Rafael Lainez holding a 12-inch wafer at Samsung Austin Semiconductor.

As a skilled engineer who already had valuable experience, Lainez says he was drawn to Samsung because at the time, the company’s operations in Austin were being launched as the biggest and strongest in Texas. The company provided an opportunity for Lainez to work on cutting-edge DRAM memory products with 8-inch wafers, with which he did not have previous experience. The chance to learn something new and be a part of the most advanced technology around was a key point in him joining the Samsung team.

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Rafael Lainez examining a wafer using a semiconductor inspection microscope.

“Never a Dull Moment”

In early 1997, construction on the first Samsung Austin Semiconductor fabrication plant was underway. As Lainez recalls, the site was originally a corn field. “Because it was originally farmland, there were absolutely no trees around,” Lainez says. “Samsung planted every single tree on the property!” For Lainez, perhaps the clearest indication of the scale of the operation was the constant construction taking place. He says, “It was impressive — a massive undertaking. I think at one point, Samsung had all the cranes in the city working on our site 24/7.”

At the time, there was a lot of local excitement over Samsung’s investment in a U.S. semiconductor fabrication facility – the first foreign-owned company to build a fab here – and entry into Central Texas. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on March 28, 1996, and featured the University of Texas Longhorn Band and a rodeo. It truly was a big Texas welcome. A lot of time has passed since the first shovel hit dirt, but Lainez has been at Samsung Austin Semiconductor for nearly the entire journey. Over the years, he has remained at the company not only because of the opportunities it has presented him, but also because of the culture Samsung has cultivated.

Lainez started as a Capacitor Module Engineer on the Process Architecture Team before moving to Product Introduction, where he brought memory products from 0.35µm technology to 100nm products to market. Over the years, he’s worked on SRAM, DRAM and Flash memory products, as well as application processors and other products at System LSI. Most recently, he has been involved in Foundry Operations, which includes manufacturing for a wide range of customers. Lainez says that working at Samsung Austin Semiconductor means there is “never a dull moment.” He adds that “Samsung has always been an innovative company, and I’m proud to work for a company that can adapt and respond to the needs of our customers and the marketplace.”

Rafael Lainez leading a meeting at Samsung Austin Semiconductor.

He has also been through the Samsung Leadership Program and had the opportunity to lead new departments on several occasions, which has given him a fuller perspective of his work and Samsung’s uniqueness. These departments include Metrology, Defects, Integration, Materials and Analysis. For as dynamic as his career has been, Lainez believes the most meaningful part of working at Samsung Austin Semiconductor has been the people. About his colleagues, he says, “A lot of them are still here, and I have met people that started out of college, married Samsung teammates and formed families. That is what has made Samsung Austin Semiconductor special to me.”

An Everlasting Bond

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Rafael Lainez with a colleague at the Samsung Austin Semiconductor office.

For Lainez and his team, Samsung Austin Semiconductor’s profits exceeding $1 million and turning a profit at a fabrication plant outside of South Korea for the first time was meaningful milestone. However, they were surprised by the reaction they received when they reported the news back to headquarters: how much of that profit had they shared with the local community? To Lainez, this was a defining moment. Recalling the memory now, he says, “It reinforced Samsung’s values and that Samsung cares, not just about operating profits, but also about the well-being of the entire community and everyone associated with the company. And that is a very memorable and proud moment that I will always carry with me.”

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Related Topics:Employees Featured Life at Samsung Samsung Austin Semiconductor (SAS)Samsung Semiconductors semiconductor

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Austin, TX

Element hotel opens in Austin, Texas' growing tech corridor

Published

3 hours ago

April 2, 2026

Press Room

Element hotel opens in Austin, Texas' growing tech corridor

Element North Austin (Texas) Tech Ridge has opened in one of the city’s emerging technology and business hubs. The 124-room hotel is managed by Raleigh, N.C.-based Concord Hospitality. | The 124-room hotel is managed by Concord Hospitality.

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Austin, TX

Austin restaurateur to open a taquería on Hoover’s Cooking property

Published

16 hours ago

April 1, 2026

Press Room

Austin restaurateur to open a taquería on Hoover’s Cooking property

AUSTIN, Texas — The owner of two renowned Mexican restaurants in Austin has purchased local southern food institution Hoover’s Cooking, and plans to open a taquería on the property are in the works.

According to a report from the Austin American-Statesman, Este and Suerte owner Sam Hellman-Mass finalized the purchase of the Manor Road staple this week.

Hoover Alexander has operated Hoover’s Cooking for nearly 30 years, bringing comfort food classics to North Austin. The chef and Austin native recently announced his retirement, with the restaurant set to close May 31.

While there are popular taco dishes on the menu at both Este and Suerte, Hellman-Mass and executive chef Fermín Núñez plan to build an outpost devoted to tacos at the east end of the Hoover’s lot.

Plans for the building that was home to Hoover’s have not yet been determined.

As for Hoover’s legacy, Hellman-Mass told the Statesman he plans to work with Hoover to commemorate him as he retires, calling him “a paragon of character and hospitality.”

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Austin, TX

Beach Volleyball: Florida Atlantic goes winless in Austin at the Texas Invitational

Published

1 day ago

March 31, 2026

Press Room

Beach Volleyball: Florida Atlantic goes winless in Austin at the Texas Invitational

No. 16 Florida Atlantic beach volleyball (13-11, 2-0 CUSA) was put to the test during the Texas Invitational this past weekend at the Wright-Whitaker Sports Complex in Austin, where they competed in what is widely considered one of the most competitive regular-season events in NCAA beach volleyball.

FAU entered the tournament coming off a 2-2 showing at the North Florida Invitational, dropping from No. 14 to No. 16 in the rankings.

The Owls opened the tournament against No. 3 University of Southern California (21-4) and No. 10 Long Beach State (18-6). On day two, they faced No. 2 Stanford (21-2) and No. 3 UCLA (18-3). After four hard-fought matches, the Owls finished the weekend 0-4.

Despite the challenging weekend, Head Coach Steve Grotowski had many positive takeaways. Especially when looking ahead to the postseason.

“Yeah, it’s huge for our experience. One of the big focuses this year is winning our conference, getting back to the NCAA tournament, and advancing as far as we can. So I think this weekend there were a lot of really good things, stuff that we’ve been working on at practice that I saw the girls starting to implement, and it got us really close in a few matches,” said Grotowski.

“Even if we didn’t get any wins, at the end of the day it’s about playing our best volleyball at the end of the year, and that’s always the goal.”

The highlight of the weekend came on day two when Mia Scanlon and Klaire VanDeusen, a former USC Trojan, earned a win over UCLA.

Friday, March 27th

On courts four and five, the Trojans got off to a fast start. Cameron Knifton and Allison Spittal were defeated in straight sets, 21-11, 21-14, followed by a 21-16, 21-19 loss for Reese Edwards and Kendall Mignerey, putting USC up 2-0 over Florida Atlantic.

In the second spot, Olivia Strandberg and Ava Koehl lost 21-14, 21-14, securing USC a dual victory.

On court one, Shantel Starling and Denisse Morgenstern won their first set 21-18. The Trojans responded with a 21-18 in the second set, sending the match into a third set, where USC secured the victory 15-10.

Meanwhile, in the third flight, VanDeusen and Scanlon took the opening set 17-21, before falling in a reverse sweep 21-15, 15-9. The Owls would fall again in their next matchup against Long Beach State.

In the afternoon matches, FAU took on Long Beach State and, once again, gave up an early lead as courts four and five opened the dual.

Knifton and Spittal were the first to fall in the fifth flight, dropping a straight-set match 21-18, 21-11.

On court four, Edwards and Mignerey opened the match with a 21-16 win, but The Beach responded with an 18-21, 15-11 three-set victory.

Clinching the match for Long Beach State on court two, Koehl and Strandberg fell 21-19, 21-13. On courts three and one, the pairs were also defeated in straight sets.

To cap the day, the Owls were defeated by USC and Long Beach, moving them to 0-2 for the tournament.

Saturday, March 28th

After a tough test on Friday, the competition on Saturday only got stronger as the Sandy Owls took on the top two nationally ranked teams.

The action began on court three, where Scanlon and VanDeusen fell 21-19, 21-13, followed by another straight-set loss on court four, where Edwards and Mignerey were defeated 21-14, 21-15.

Starling and Morgenstern opened with a 21-16 win before falling to the Cardinals in a close 18-21, 15-12 match on court one. Knifton and Wolf won the first set 21-14; however, Stanford bounced back with a 21-10, 15-12 win.

Wrapping up the dual in the second flight, Koehl and Strandberg dropped another three-set match.

In the weekend’s finale, the Owls faced No. 1 UCLA, who have been ranked as the top team in the country for three consecutive weeks.

The Bruins took an early lead after taking straight-set victories on courts two and one. However, Scanlon and VanDeusen cut the deficit with their straight-set sweep on court three. The pair beat Harper Cooper and Alexa Fernandez. Cooper had been undefeated at 16-0 with five different partners on the season entering the tournament. She concluded the weekend 19-1.

With their win over the Bruins, VanDeusen and Scanlon improved to a season-best 13-10 record as a pair.

UCLA secured the match with a two-set court four win, then closed the match with a three-set win at the court to end the battle 4-1.

The Owls have a bye week and will return on April 10-11, hosting their Capri Classic for senior weekend at the Florida Atlantic Beach Volleyball Complex. FAU will face Jacksonville University, Stephen F. Austin, North Florida, and Florida Gulf Coast.

Ella Haas is a Staff Writer for the University Press. Email her at [email protected] or contact her on Instagram @ella_hs7 for information regarding this or other stories.

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