Intel Engineering Mgr. on How Proactive Expertise Keeps the Semiconductor Industry Resilient

While many industries have faltered under the weight of global instability, the semiconductor world keeps moving steadily forward. Even as wars, tariffs, and talent shifts shake other industries, chipmakers continue to grow, guided by a mindset that prizes preparation over reaction. Their secret isn’t luck or timing but a deliberate strategy, built on resilience and the habit of developing expertise long before it’s ever tested.

Jeetenraj Randawa knows what it takes to keep an industry steady when everything around it is in flux. As an Engineering Manager at Intel Corporation and a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, he has spent years refining how large-scale operations stay resilient. His takeaway is simple but powerful: the semiconductor industry thrives because it builds technical mastery before the problems ever arrive.

"In the past, when something went wrong, our instinct was to form a team and brainstorm solutions, even if no one had the deep technical knowledge to solve the problem. When I worked in the United States, I saw a different approach. Each person was already a subject matter expert in their area, ready to act without waiting for a crisis. It made me realize how much stronger we could be if we built that expertise early. Why are we waiting for an issue to learn?" says Randawa.

The proactive philosophy is a direct response to the immense external pressures on the industry. Geopolitical shocks have become the new normal. The war in Ukraine continues to send shockwaves through global supply chains, while ongoing US-China tariff battles create deep uncertainty. According to Randawa, these factors have forced the industry to abandon geographic consolidation in favor of a crucial counter-strategy: diversification. The move is not just a defensive hedge against risk, but a proactive engine for innovation.

• A global mindset: "Concentrating too much on building in one particular region is risky. You have to diversify," Randawa explains. "When teams operate across different regions, they don’t need to repeat the same trial-and-error process because they can share what works. Success in one market can inform another, creating a cycle of shared learning and innovation. That exchange of ideas strengthens the entire organization and broadens how people think about work."

The proactive mindset isn’t just about responding to global pressures. It also applies within the walls of the organization, where resilience depends on how well people prepare for change, particularly as AI and automation reshape how work gets done. The gap between a veteran who swears by Excel and a millennial fluent in AI-powered tools shows what happens when teams wait to adapt instead of learning ahead. The companies that remain steady are those building digital fluency early, turning proactive learning into a buffer against disruption.

• The automation divide: Randawa describes what he calls the "automation divide," where the speed of adapting to new tools can vary dramatically between generations. For some, learning a new system takes half an hour; for others, it takes a full day. He traces this difference to a deeper cultural shift in how people relate to technology. "There’s no more human interaction," he says, recalling how attendance once meant punch cards and now relies on eye scanners. "The older generation feels that loss of touch, while millennials are more comfortable trusting the system. The older generation believes in the touch, and the newer generation believes in automation."

That internal instability is compounded by a modern workforce that no longer prioritizes long-term loyalty. The days of a forty-year career with one company are gone, replaced by a culture of job-hopping that makes it difficult to cultivate the deep, institutional knowledge that comes from tenure. The trend makes a proactive approach to upskilling not just beneficial, but essential for survival.

• The expertise deficit: "The concept used to be loyalty, but that no longer holds true," Randawa says. "This generation gets bored with routine work. In the past, repetition made people feel like experts, but now everyone wants something new. That constant movement creates instability. If you keep changing jobs, it takes longer to find your niche. Anything you do consistently makes you an expert, but if you keep hopping, that growth never happens."

In an era of constant change, true resilience is not found in a specific tool or a static process. It is forged in a culture that values and builds expertise as a core function, independent of generational cycles or technological shifts. The semiconductor industry's stability is a testament to this principle: the most durable advantage is a workforce of prepared experts, ready to solve a problem long before it arrives.

"Resilience doesn’t come from waiting for things to go wrong. It comes from preparing people to think ahead. When every individual already has the technical knowledge and confidence to act, the whole organization stays steady no matter what changes around it," concludes Randawa.