System Design Engineer

To make electronics, you need chips, wafers, transistors, reticles, and... To make these, you must see, test and manufacture them at scale—faster and better than ever before. That's where KLA comes in. Whether you're early in your career or an experienced professional, you'll solve complex challenges, work alongside brilliant minds and help shape the future of technology.

Group/Division

The Semiconductor Products and Customers (Semi PC) business unit designs, builds and sells KLA’s product portfolio to help chip manufacturers meet high-quality standards for technologies like AI, data centers, automotive and electronic devices. Our inspection, metrology, and analytics systems detect and monitor defects across logic and memory chips, specialty semiconductors, wafers, reticles, advanced packaging, process equipment and materials. We also develop technologies for specialty processes, IC substrates, and PCB manufacturing, including etch and deposition, component inspection, and imaging and analytics. The LS-SWIFT division delivers high-throughput patterned wafer inspection systems that support advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Its mission is to provide industry-leading defect detection with optimal cost of ownership across a wide range of applications. LS systems enable precise, cost-effective inspection for cutting-edge process nodes, while SWIFT systems offer comprehensive macro inspection of all wafer surfaces—capabilities that are especially critical for advanced packaging, as well as logic, memory, and automotive applications.

What You'll Do

In this role, you will play a key part in advancing business priorities by delivering high-impact work across your area of expertise.

Responsibilities:

• Responsible for optical alignment, optical system integration, test and characterization
• Define system and subsystem specifications
• Document manufacturing procedures
• Provide training to manufacturing engineers and technicians
• Derive and manage detailed manufacturing requirements and introduction plans in the design concept phase
• Cover all aspects of the manufacturing introduction, including design for manufacturability, quality, tooling, training, process documentation, product structure, build process optimization and facilities requirements

Requirements:

• Experience in optical alignment and characterization
• Familiar with Python and JavaScript would be a plus
• Extensive hands-on experience in building/testing optical inspection or metrology tools
• Strong diagnostic and trouble shooting skills in optics, and opto-mechanics
• Team player with good communication skills
• Ability to work effectively with little supervision and achieve results in a timely manner
• Strong fundamentals in optics, microscopy, imaging systems, sensors, motion control, precision positioning systems, automation, and system characterization.
• Experience with MATLAB, Python, scripting, statistical analysis, and engineering automation tools.
• Effective communicator with good interpersonal skills. Ideally, have strong experience in managing and messaging to customers and Executives.
• Proven track record of technical issues resolution. Good problem solver who works well as part of a focused team.
• Experience developing, integrating, troubleshooting, or supporting complex opto-mechanical, electromechanical, or semiconductor capital equipment systems.
• Knowledge of semiconductor manufacturing processes, wafer inspection, defect review, lithography, advanced packaging, metrology, or process control is preferred.
• Excellent communication skills are required.

Minimum Qualifications

• Masters or PhD in Physics, Optics Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical or related fields with at least 3-5 years of work experience.

About KLA

We provide advanced inspection tools, metrology systems, process solutions, and computational analytics that make electronics possible, tackling complex challenges. From electron and photon optics to machine learning and data analytics, we seek perfection at the most fundamental level of matter in the universe. If you want to make electronics that push industries forward and make the world a better place, join us.

Use of AI Statement 

At KLA, our interviews seek to understand your individual skills, problem-solving approach and authentic thinking. To ensure a fair and consistent evaluation, the use of AI, recording tools or other technologies to generate, suggest or provide responses during interviews—whether virtual or in person—is not permitted unless explicitly approved in advance as part of a reasonable accommodation or invited by the interviewer. Use of these tools may interfere with our ability to evaluate your individual qualifications and affect your candidacy. KLA is committed to advancing innovation through responsible AI, and we value candidates who share this mindset.

We offer a competitive, family friendly total rewards package. We design our programs to reflect our commitment to an inclusive environment, while ensuring we provide benefits that meet the diverse needs of our employees.

KLA is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.