Senior Electron-optics Research Scientist jobs at Kla in United States, Milpitas

As part of the Systems Engineering team in our FaST Division, you will be responsible for the complete lifecycle of products from concept to deployment, ensuring seamless integration and optimal performance of our cutting-edge metrology systems for Advanced Packaging.

Responsibilities:

• Design and develop system architectures and characterize system performance according to requirements
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to design, develop, and validate metrology systems, including hardware, software, and control systems
• Define and document system specifications to meet project requirements
• Perform detailed systems analysis to ensure optimal performance and reliability
• Develop and execute comprehensive test plans to qualify systems
• Provide ongoing engineering support to ensure field systems adaption, sustainability, and customer satisfaction
• Work with Product & Program Managers to ensure project milestones met on time

Requirements:

• In-depth understanding of Systems Engineering principles with strong experience on developing complex systems in the semiconductor industry
• Outstanding skills in optical systems, opto-mechanics, mechatronics, electrical engineering, or mechanical engineering
• Strong command of general physics, math and computational skills are highly desirable
• Strong diagnostic and troubleshooting skills in optics, precision mechanics, image processing, and motion control systems
• Experience on data processing, analytics, and statistics with programming languages such as Python and MATLAB would be a plus
• Agility and ability to thrive on a fast-paced program, take on assignments in a nonfamiliar domain, and respond quickly to internal and customer site escalations
• Demonstrated competencies of critical thinking, analysis, hands-on, teamwork, and ownership
• Ability of international travel up to 25%

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

or at +1-408-352-2808

• Work with Customers, Marketing and Applications Engineers to understand wafer fabrication processes and defects for optical inspection.
• Perform electro-magnetic simulations andmeasurements to assess optical inspection sensitivity of patterned-wafer defects.
• Assess new concepts (algorithms and hardware) to meet inspection challenges.
• Communicate results and recommendations to product teams and customers.

• Consistent record to applying fundamental principles of electromagnetism and optics to optical imaging or measurement problems.
• Experience with analysis of large data sets from optical systems to measure physical parameters. Associated experience with artificial intelligence is a plus.
• Set up electromagnetic simulations of nano-scale structures.

Minimum Qualifications

• Doctorate (Academic) Degree and minimum of 1 year related work experience; Master's Level Degree and minimum related work experience of 3 years
• Physics, Electrical Engineering or Optics background with specialization in electromagnetism
• Proficiency in image and signal processing and statistics using MATLAB, Python or other relevant software
• Travel of up to 10% including foreign destinations

or at +1-408-352-2808

Responsibilities and Scope

KLA is seeking a motivated individual with a growth mindset for a senior algo engineer position in a world-class algorithm group within the reticle product division (RAPID).

• The individual would be hands-on in development of algorithmic solutions for image modeling and processing from requirements gathering, rigorous concept formulation, prototyping, to productization.
• Identify technical bottlenecks. Balance sophistication and computational complexity through comprehensive data analysis.
• Engage directly with systems, optics, sensors & software teams to co-optimize algorithms along with other sub-systems for best overall system design.
• Collaborate and influence team members to achieve excellence in technical rigor and development agility with customer focus.

Preferred Qualifications & Attributes

• Master or Ph.D. in Applied Math, EE, Computer science or related field
• Substantial work experience in image processing, machine learning, or deep learning in advanced imaging systems
• Good knowledge of modeling of imaging systems (optical or electron beam) and HPC (high-performance computing)
• Experience in C++ production software development and object-oriented programming is needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Doctorate (Academic) Degree and related work experience of 3 years; Master's Level Degree and related work experience of 6 years

or at +1-408-352-2808

What You’ll Do:

As a key member of our development team, you’ll be at the forefront of designing and refining high-performance electron sources. Your work will directly impact next-generation systems used in advanced imaging and analysis.

Your Responsibilities Will Include:

• Crafting system requirements and verification plans that guide development from concept to reality.
• Collaborating with experts across electron optics, vacuum systems, electronics, mechanics, and software to bring integrated solutions to life.
• Exploring and identifying new technologies to enhance performance and shape future product roadmaps.
• Leading small, agile teams to tackle subsystem development and mitigate technical risks.
• Designing and executing experiments to validate system performance and retire critical risks.
• Rolling up your sleeves to build, test, debug, and analyze experimental setups.
• Partnering with external vendors to source specialized components.
• Occasionally traveling to engage with vendors and customers.

Qualifications:

• An advanced degree in Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, or Materials Science.
• Hands-on experience with electron sources (CFE, TFE), SEM systems, vacuum technology, and instrumentation.
• Comfort working with high voltage and UHV systems, and a solid foundation in electron microscopy.
• Strong skills in simulation, theoretical modeling, and experimental techniques.
• Proficiency in scripting, MATLAB, and data analysis tools like JMP.
• A self-starter attitude with excellent collaboration and communication skills.

This is more than a job—it’s a chance to be part of a team that’s redefining what’s possible in electron source technology. You’ll work on meaningful projects, learn from industry leaders, and see your contributions come to life in real-world applications.

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

or at +1-408-352-2808

Responsibilities

• Driving CTO group’s advanced optics R&D in the following areas

• High performance optics design

• DUV optics design and know-how

• High precision optical metrology

• Advanced opto-mechanical design

• Accurate optical system modeling

• High precision experiments

• AI for optics

• Proposing and designing optical architecture to meet the requirements of dedicated applications

• Translating the top-level system requirements into subsystem specifications

• Performing critical optical design analysis, covering the following areas: tolerance analysis, misalignment compensation schemes and metrology challenges

• Collaborating with and guiding vendors to resolve manufacturing issues

• Designing and conducting experiments to validate the system performance, and addressing the outstanding issues

• Identifying the key areas in optics design or modeling that can significantly benefit from AI technologies

• Proposition

• Proof of concept

Required

• Solid background in physics, optics and math

• Expertise in optics design, modeling and experiments

• Expertise in numerical simulations while proficient in at least one of the typical programming languages for this purpose, such as Matlab, Python, Julia, … etc.

• Familiar with AI technologies and their typical applications to solving physical problems

• Highly motivated and curiosity-driven

• Skilled in effective communication and team collaboration

Desired

• Knowledge of semiconductor metrology/inspection industry

Minimum Qualifications

Ph.D. in physics, optics or math with at least 3 years' relevant working experience

or at +1-408-352-2808

Key Responsibilities

• Architect and implement solutions to optimize developer inner and outer loops, including workflow automation, CI/CD pipelines, andinfrastructure-as-code(IaC).

• Continuously evaluate and integrate open source and commercial tools to improve developer experience and operational efficiency including how to best leverage Artificial Intelligence.

• Champion process improvements to increase developer intensity.

• Mentor other engineers on containers, DevOps methodologies, and infrastructure automation.

• Resolve complex issues related to platform reliability, performance, and security, both proactively and reactively in engineering and field implementations.

• Work with platform team members, software engineers, SREs, product managers, and security to translate business needs into technical solutions that evolve the platform capabilities.

• Stay ahead of industry trends, emerging technologies, and evolving practices in cloud-native computing, DevOps, and techniques to continuously improve DevEx.

Preferred Qualifications

• Skilled in Linux and container platform (Docker, Kubernetes, or OpenShift) administration.

• Experience with virtualization technologies (KVM/QEMU, Hyper-V), virtual networking, storage provisioning and performance.

• Strong proficiency in at least one major cloud provider (AWS, GCP, Azure) and container-based hybrid/on-premises architectures including deployment, scaling and self-healing operations.

• Hands-on experience with CI/CD tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, ArgoCD, Tekton) andinfrastructure-as-code(Terraform, Pulumi, Ansible, etc.).

• Proficient in scripting and programming languages such as Python, Go, Bash, or similar.

• Experience with observability stacks (Prometheus, Grafana) and incident response processes.

• Familiarity with modern software development practices such as microservices, serverless, and event-driven architecture including multithreaded and multicore techniques.

• Strong understanding of data processing and storage technology such as SQL and NoSQL.

• Knowledgeable of and able to influence server, networking, and other hardware components.

• Ability to work effectively across teams and mentor junior engineers.

• Ability to innovate, inspire change, and influence engineering culture.

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

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.

• 5+ years of experience in DevOps engineering, platform engineering, or SRE roles successfully working with container-based platforms and self-service infrastructure solutions.

or at +1-408-352-2808

Key Responsibilities:
• Provide technical direction to convert R&D surface modification procedure to production worthy solution and maintain defect signal enhancement benefit
• Drive the team through engineering rigor and well controlled processes to develop robust surface modification procedures to ensure predictable inspection results
• Provide technical direction on the development of various types of fluorophores
• Lead the team on the engineering design, implementation, and process optimization of selective surface marking
• Oversee characterization analysis using techniques such as XPS, SEM, AFM, ToF-SIMS, XRR, NMR, FTIR, TEM, fluorimetry, and ellipsometry
• Drive the team to develop production worthy surface modification and synthesis procedures
• Forster a culture of continuous improvement with emphasis on scientific excellence
• Establish relationship with chemical company(ies) to plan for scale-up production
• Collaborate cross-functionally with product development team and participate in customer meetings

• Prepare technical reports and conduct peer-review meetings as needed.
• Track industry trends and innovations related to atomic layer deposition, etch chemistries, and ultra-thin film coatings.

• PhD in Chemistry, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Physical Chemistry, Physics, or related field with a focus on surface science, surface modification, and/or fluorescence emission
• Minimum of 8–10 years of experience in surface chemistry/polymer synthesis/organic synthesis with at least 3–5 years in a managerial or leadership role.
• Proven expertise in surface modification techniques and analytical characterization.
• Experience in fluorescent dye synthesis, fabrication, and characterization
• Strong track record of leading a team to innovate, execute, and collaborate cross functionally.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills
• Proven experience with IC device fabrication for logic, foundry, and/or DRAM/NAND devices,
• Demonstrated experience working directly with advanced semiconductor fabs and foundries

• Hands-on expertise with fluorescence dye usage in semiconductor applications
• Strong understanding of material interactions at nanoscale dimensions and their impact on semiconductor device performance

Minimum Qualifications

• PhD in Chemistry, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, physical chemistry, physics, or related field with a focus on surface science and surface modification
• Minimum of 8–10 years of experience in surface chemistry/polymer synthesis/organic synthesis with at least 3–5 years in a managerial or leadership role.
• Proven expertise in surface modification techniques and analytical characterization.

or at +1-408-352-2808