Group/Division

The KLA Services team headquartered in Milpitas, CA is our service organization that consists of Service Sales and Marketing, Spares Supply Chain management, Field Operations, Engineering, Product Training, and Technical Support. The KLA Services organization partners with our field teams and customers in all business sectors to maintain the high performance and productivity of our products through a flexible portfolio of services. Our comprehensive services include: proactive management of tools to identify and improve performance; expertise in optics, image processing and motion control with worldwide service engineers, 24/7 technical support teams and knowledge management systems; and an extensive parts network to ensure worldwide availability of parts.

Job Description/Preferred Qualifications

About the Role

We are seeking an AI Engineer to serve as a technical lead within a growing, operations-aligned engineering team. This role is ideal for someone who combines strong hands-on engineering capability with a passion for mentoring others and shaping how teams build and scale AI systems.

You will work alongside data scientists and full-stack engineers to deliver AI-powered solutions across internal tooling, customer-facing features, and the supporting data/ML infrastructure. The team is actively shipping; this role focuses on strengthening technical execution, improving system reliability, and elevating overall engineering practices.

While there will be opportunities to take on broader leadership responsibilities over time, the primary focus of this role is technical leadership, delivery, and mentorship.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of production AI systems end-to-end

• Contribute hands-on to the codebase and set a high bar for engineering quality

• Establish scalable patterns for evaluation, deployment, and system reliability

• Conduct technical design reviews and guide architectural decisions

• Mentor and develop engineers, providing regular coaching and technical guidance

• Support hiring efforts, including candidate evaluation and onboarding

• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to align priorities and deliver impactful solutions

• Help translate experimentation into stable, production-ready systems

Preferred Qualifications:

Technical Expertise

• 5–8 years of experience building production software systems

• At least 2 years working with AI/ML or LLM-based solutions in production environments

• Demonstrated ownership of delivering end-to-end AI systems or features

• Strong understanding of modern AI development practices (e.g., evaluation, prompt iteration, system integration)

• Comfortable working across the stack, including data pipelines, model serving, and application layers

• Sound judgment in making technical trade-offs, including build vs. buy decisions

Leadership & Mentorship

• Experience serving as a technical lead or senior engineer on a team

• Proven ability to mentor and uplift other engineers

• Strong communication skills, including technical documentation and stakeholder engagement

• Ability to influence decisions and drive alignment without formal authority

• Interest in growing leadership scope over time (optional, not required)

Role Scope

• Primarily a hands-on technical leadership role

• Emphasis on delivery, system quality, and team enablement

• Opportunities to expand into people leadership over time, based on interest and business needs

• Not a research-focused role — emphasis is on applied, production systems

Additional Information

• Periodic travel may be required

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Data Science, or a related technical field

• Advanced degree (MS or PhD) preferred, particularly with a focus on AI, Machine Learning, or distributed systems

Minimum Qualifications

Base Pay Range: $111,900.00 - $190,200.00 Annually

Primary Location: USA-MI-Ann Arbor-KLA

KLA’s total rewards package for employees may also include participation in performance incentive programs and eligibility for additional benefits including but not limited to: medical, dental, vision, life, and other voluntary benefits, 401(K) including company matching, employee stock purchase program (ESPP), student debt assistance, tuition reimbursement program, development and career growth opportunities and programs, financial planning benefits, wellness benefits including an employee assistance program (EAP), paid time off and paid company holidays, and family care and bonding leave.

Interns are eligible for some of the benefits listed. Our pay ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The range displayed reflects the pay for this position in the primary location identified in this posting. Actual pay depends on several factors, including state minimum pay wage rates, location, job-related skills, experience, and relevant education level or training. We are committed to complying with all applicable federal and state minimum wage requirements where applicable. If applicable, your recruiter can share more about the specific pay range for your preferred location during the hiring process.