Ultra Clean Holdings announced it has appointed semiconductor operations veteran Robert Wunar as chief operating officer, with the leadership change taking effect March 23, 2026. The company also said Harjinder Bajwa departed Ultra Clean effective January 25, 2026.
Wunar brings more than three decades of operations and supply chain experience in the semiconductor capital equipment sector. Most recently, he served as COO and managing director of business unit operations at Applied Materials, where he oversaw revenue and profitability and end-to-end supply and demand execution across multiple product lines. Ultra Clean said his background includes global manufacturing leadership, cost optimization, cycle-time reduction, supply-chain resilience initiatives, and scaling operations to support major industry ramps.
The appointment comes as Ultra Clean positions its manufacturing and supply chain footprint for what it described as the next semiconductor ramp. The company framed Wunar’s mandate around translating strategy into execution across global operations, with a focus on operational speed, agility, and readiness to meet customer expectations for quality and reliability.
Ultra Clean highlighted Wunar’s track record of gross margin improvement, on-time delivery performance, and reductions in manufacturing cycle times, as well as experience managing operations across the full product lifecycle, from research and development and new product introduction through high-volume manufacturing. The company also pointed to his emphasis on quality systems, execution discipline, and customer outcomes.
Wunar holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronics Engineering Technology from DeVry Institute of Technology. Ultra Clean said he has spent his career building and leading cross-functional teams in complex manufacturing environments.
Ultra Clean is headquartered in Hayward, California, and supplies critical subsystems, components, parts, and ultra-high purity cleaning and analytical services primarily to the semiconductor industry. The company said its Products division supports customers with integrated outsourced solutions for major subassemblies, improved design-to-delivery cycle times, design for manufacturability, prototyping, and high-precision manufacturing. Its Services division provides tool chamber parts cleaning and coating, along with micro contamination analytical services.
KEY QUOTES
“Robert is a proven operations leader with a deep understanding of what it takes to execute at scale in our industry. His experience driving operational excellence, combined with his focus on speed and agility, will be instrumental as we prepare UCT for the next semiconductor ramp. Robert’s ability to translate strategy into disciplined execution across global operations will help ensure we are ready to support our customers with the quality, responsiveness, reliability and trust they expect.”
“I would like to thank Harjinder for his many contributions to UCT. During his tenure, Harjinder played an important role in strengthening our operational foundation and positioning UCT for the future. We are grateful for his leadership and wish him continued success in his next chapter.”
James Xiao, CEO
