Group/Division

With over 40 years of semiconductor process control experience, chipmakers around the globe rely on KLA to ensure that their fabs ramp next-generation devices to volume production quickly and cost-effectively. Enabling the movement towards advanced chip design, KLA's Global Products Group (GPG), which is responsible for creating all of KLA’s metrology and inspection products, is looking for the best and the brightest research scientist, software engineers, application development engineers, and senior product technology process engineers. The Surfscan group includes a team of engineers, technology development, apps engineers and product marketing focused on technology that enables wafer, IC and equipment manufacturers to develop, qualify and monitor their process tools. Defects and process non-uniformities detected on Surfscan equipment allow for early identification of yield excursions. The flagship Surfscan products include the SPx platforms for wafer surface quality and wafer defect inspection tools and systems for inspection of polished wafers, epi wafers and engineered substrates during the wafer fabrication process.

Job Description/Preferred Qualifications

Candidate must have a Bachelor’s with 5+ years’ work experience / Master's Degree with 3+ year work experience or PhD majoring in Computer Science / Computer Engineering / Electrical Engineering or equivalent.

• Proven experience developing and troubleshooting multidisciplinary SW/HW systems, ideally involving large software systems or semiconductor products. 
• Extensive experience in C++ development, with a strong foundation in object-oriented design, system-level programming, and software architecture.
• Working knowledge of multithreading and multiprocessing concepts. 
• Hands-on experience developing applications on Windows and/or Linux operating systems. 
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a focus on debugging complex systems. 
• Deep familiarity with memory management/memory optimization.
• Expertise in performance profiling, debugging, and system optimization.
• Experience with version control systems (e.g., Git) and CI/CD pipelines in production environments.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. 

Required Skills & Competencies

• Solid grasp of object-oriented design principles and relational database design patterns. 

• Thorough knowledge of the software development life cycle (SDLC) and software engineering practices across analysis, design, development, and unit testing. 

• Familiarity with AI tools and technologies that accelerate development and testing. 

• Ability to interact and communicate with all levels of staff and management, keeping discussions at the appropriate level of abstraction and moving cleanly from theory to implementation. 
• Ability to travel to customer sites on short notices for Software troubleshooting as needed. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of STL, the Boost library, WinDBG, and Windows internals. 

• Domain knowledge of semiconductor process control or wafer inspection.

Minimum Qualifications

Base Pay Range: $136,300.00 - $231,700.00 Annually

Primary Location: USA-CA-Milpitas-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.