KLA Tencor

System Design Engineer

KLA Tencor$117K — $200K *
Technical Services
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Doctorate degree with no experience, Master's with 3 years, or Bachelor's with 5 years in related field.
  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills for cross-functional collaboration.
  • Ability to independently deliver results under minimal supervision.
  • Expertise in system-level requirements and subsystem interfaces across various domains.
  • Hands-on experience in lab or hardware development.

Responsibilities

  • Design and develop multi-disciplinary systems and system features.
  • Plan and test systems for performance, supporting troubleshooting for improved manufacturability.
  • Lead integration efforts and conduct root-cause analysis from prototype to production.
  • Mentor junior engineers and contribute to technical reviews and requirement traceability.
  • Deliver structured training to manufacturing engineers and maintain product knowledge.

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance options.
  • 401(K) with company matching contributions.
  • Tuition reimbursement and student debt assistance programs.
  • Wellness benefits, including an employee assistance program (EAP).
  • Paid time off and company holidays.
Full Job Description
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 LS-SWIFT Division of KLA's Global Products Group provides patterned wafer inspection systems for high-volume semiconductor manufacturing. Its mission is to deliver market-leading cost of ownership in defect detection for a broad range of applications in the production of semiconductors. Customers from the foundry, logic, memory, automotive, MEMS, advanced packaging and other markets rely upon high-sample wafer inspection information generated by LS-SWIFT products. LS (Laser Scanning) systems enable cost-effective patterned wafer defect detection for the industry's most sophisticated process technologies deployed in leading-edge foundry, logic, DRAM, and NAND fabs. SWIFT (Simultaneous Wafer Inspection at Fast Throughput) systems deliver all-wafer-surface (frontside, backside, and edge) macro inspection that is critical for automotive IC, MEMS, and advanced packaging processes as well as foundry/logic and memory fabs. LS-SWIFT operates from a global footprint that includes the US, Singapore, India and Germany, and serves a worldwide customer base across Asia, Europe and North America.

Job Description/Preferred Qualifications
  • Design and develop multi-disciplinary systems and features.
  • Planning and testing system for performance, troubleshooting and support for better performance, manufacturability and serviceability.
  • Define system-level requirements, subsystem interfaces, and technical tradeoffs across optical, mechanical, electrical, controls, and software domains.
  • Lead integration, troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions from prototype through production and field escalation support.
  • Hands on development in a lab or an actual HW.
  • Mentor junior engineers and contribute to requirements traceability, technical reviews, and roadmap planning.
  • Lead system and subsystem integration, testing, and characterization activities. Define and maintain specifications to ensure optimal performance and reliability.
  • Deliver structured training to Manufacturing Engineers and NPI Engineers. Maintain up-to-date product knowledge through regular trainings, including sessions at KLA headquarters.
  • Coordinate project activities by actively aligning with stakeholders and perform system level tasks.
  • Work with functional groups to define and review designs.
  • Work with marketing and engineering teams to define system architecture
  • Support manufacturing and field service teams with optics- and system-related escalations. Resolve technical conflicts, set priorities in line with program objectives, and escalate topics when required.
  • Drive programs and projects with KLA PLC rigor
  • Provide regular status updates to management through weekly reports and live presentations, ensuring transparency on progress, changes, and risks.
  • Ensure alignment with defined group strategies and roadmaps. Conduct periodic reviews to evaluate progress and adjust plans as necessary.
  • Act as a driver for new ideas, methods, and ways of working in a fast-evolving and highly competitive industry.
  • Assess, evaluate risks, and drive projects forward with an eye for critical path
  • Communicate cross-functionally with a diverse team including engineering, marketing, manufacturing, and service to drive execution
  • Lead, encourage, empower, and influence team members to achieve excellence in engineering rigor, reliability, usability, and customer focus
  • Articulate and present execution plans for internal leadership as well as external customers
  • Identify bottlenecks and remove obstacles for the team to focus on value-add activities
  • Hold regular meetings between functional groups to ensure interdependencies are well understood and documented
  • Support roadmap development by detailing upcoming requirement changes and resources required
  • Proven ability to work independently with minimal supervision and to deliver results within defined timelines.
  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across functions.
  • Occasional travel required up to 20%


Minimum Qualifications

Doctorate (Academic) Degree and 0 years related work experience; Master's Level Degree and related work experience of 3 years; Bachelor's Level Degree and related work experience of 5 years

Base Pay Range: $117,800.00 - $200,300.00 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.

About KLA Tencor

KLA Corporation is a global capital equipment company that provides process control solutions for semiconductor and related industries. The Company's products are also used in a number of other high technology industries, including the packaging, light emitting diode (LED), power device and compound semiconductor markets. Its products and services are used by bare wafer, integrated circuit (IC), lithography reticle (reticle or mask) and disk manufacturers around the world. The Company's inspection and metrology products and related offerings are categorized in various groups, including Chip Manufacturing, Wafer Manufacturing, Reticle Manufacturing, LED, Power Device and Compound Semiconductor Manufacturing, Data Storage Media/Head Manufacturing, Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) Manufacturing, and General Purpose/Lab Applications.
Learn more about KLA Tencor
Size
11,300 employees
Market Cap
$52 billion
Industry
Net Income
$1.3 billion
Founded
1997
5 Year Trend
+21.5%
Revenue
$6 billion
NASDAQ

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