TSMC

Semiconductor manufacturing company
Last updated:
January 6, 2026
Company details
HQ
Hsinchu, Taiwan
HEADCOUNT
10000+
ORG TYPE
Corporate
SECTOR
Technology & Digital
About the company
TSMC is the world’s largest pure-play semiconductor foundry, manufacturing chips for companies that design their own silicon but do not run fabs. TSMC produces advanced and specialty process technologies used in smartphones, high-performance computing, automotive, and industrial electronics. TSMC also operates packaging and related services that help customers move from wafer to finished components. Growth outside Taiwan has become more visible through major capacity builds in the United States, Japan, and Europe.
Locations and presence
TSMC is headquartered in Taiwan and runs large manufacturing and R&D sites there, alongside overseas manufacturing in places such as Arizona (US) and Kumamoto (Japan), with additional subsidiaries and support offices in multiple regions. Most early-career roles tied to fabs, equipment, and manufacturing engineering are on-site due to cleanroom and shift requirements, with fewer flexible roles in corporate and some software functions.
Palpable Score
75.0
/ 100
TSMC offers real early-career access through large-scale hiring, expanding internships in Arizona, and a paid technician apprenticeship route, plus visible training infrastructure for new joiners. Hiring steps are described publicly, but candidate experience signals are mixed and the company is facing public legal allegations in the US that raise fairness and culture questions. The strongest outcome evidence is retention data published by the company, but progression metrics like promotion timelines and conversion rates are not shared in a consistent way.
Pillar 1: Early-career access

Score

16.1
/ 20
  • The company is scaling early-career intake in the US through a dedicated Arizona summer internship posting that lists multiple engineering intern roles across process, yield, and equipment functions.
  • TSMC has expanded Arizona internships sharply in recent years, with public reporting describing growth from small cohorts to more than 200 interns in 2025 as the Phoenix fabs ramped.
  • The company offers a “learn-and-earn” technician apprenticeship in Arizona designed as a 12–18 month pathway combining on-the-job training with related technical instruction through a community college partner.

Pillar 2: Hiring fairness and transparency

Score

12.6
/ 20
  • The company publishes a simple end-to-end application flow (resume screening, interview, offer) and sets expectations that candidates may complete assessments before interviews.
  • TSMC’s Arizona apprenticeship page spells out required application components and explicitly includes a skills assessment step before interviews, which is clearer than many industrial employers provide.
  • The company is facing a US class-action lawsuit alleging discrimination and unsafe workplace conditions at the Arizona site, which is negative, public evidence that limits confidence in consistent fairness and transparency for early-career candidates there.

Pillar 3: Learning and support

Score

16.2
/ 20
  • The company has a dedicated Newcomer Training Center that teaches practical operations and professional knowledge, with long-tenured instructors providing hands-on training for new hires.
  • TSMC’s Arizona apprenticeship structure is explicitly built around supervised on-the-job training hours plus formal instruction over 12–18 months, which is stronger support than basic onboarding.
  • The company describes ongoing cultural integration and “newcomer care” measures as part of workforce expansion, including structured workshops run globally as hiring scales.

Pillar 4: Pay fairness and stability

Score

14.7
/ 20
  • The company states in its sustainability reporting that total compensation is maintained above the top-quartile level among industry peers, which is a concrete pay-position claim (even without role-by-role ranges).
  • TSMC’s benefits descriptions in public US-facing materials consistently reference cash bonuses, profit sharing, tuition assistance, and employee stock purchase options, which supports early-career financial stability.
  • The company does not consistently publish salary ranges on many early-career postings across regions, so candidates often have to rely on late-stage recruiter conversations or third-party estimates to benchmark pay.

Pillar 5: Early-career outcomes

Score

15.4
/ 20
  • The company publishes retention indicators that matter for early-career sustainability, including a low total turnover rate and a separately reported turnover rate for employees in their first year.
  • TSMC’s Arizona internship scale-up and apprenticeship pipeline are explicitly tied to staffing long-lived fabs with thousands of roles, which is a credible signal that early-career hiring can convert into stable operational careers.
  • The company does not publish early-career outcomes such as internship-to-offer rates, typical time-to-promotion for engineers or technicians, or retention broken down by site and function, which limits how confidently candidates can judge progression.