Senior Systems Engineer, Semiconductor Capital Equipment

Onto; Ottawa; On-site; CAD 158,000 - 237,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision coverage

PTO

401(k) with employer match

Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP)

Wellness initiatives

Job summary

Onto Innovation is seeking a highly experienced Staff Systems Engineer to sustain semiconductor capital equipment manufacturing operations, lead complex technical escalations, and drive cross-functional resolution of system‑level issues.

You will combine systems engineering fundamentals with hands‑on troubleshooting across optics, motion systems, controls, software, electronics, and manufacturing processes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Systems Engineering, Optical Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in semiconductor capital equipment, advanced manufacturing systems, or complex electro‑mechanical systems.
• Strong hands‑on troubleshooting capability at subsystem and system level.
• Experience supporting manufacturing operations, sustaining engineering, or technical escalation management.
• Strong understanding of systems engineering principles and cross-functional integration.
• Experience with structured root cause analysis methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex technical escalations affecting manufacturing builds, qualification, reliability, and customer readiness.
• Drive systematic root cause analysis (RCA), containment actions, corrective actions, and long-term preventive solutions.
• Provide hands‑on support for system integration, subsystem troubleshooting, calibration, and qualification activities.
• Support sustaining engineering activities for released products, including issue trending, failure analysis, and reliability improvements.
• Collaborate with Manufacturing Engineering and NPI teams to improve manufacturability, scalability, and production readiness.
• Work closely with R&D to identify design weaknesses, process gaps, and recurring field/manufacturing issues.
• Support extended factory and contract manufacturer operations by providing technical guidance, troubleshooting support, and process standardization.
• Review engineering changes (ECOs/ECNs) and assess manufacturing impact, risk, validation requirements, and implementation readiness.
• Develop and improve troubleshooting procedures, build documentation, qualification methods, and manufacturing workflows.
• Analyze system performance data, logs, calibration results, and process metrics to identify trends and systemic issues.
• Support pilot builds, engineering builds, beta systems, and production ramp activities.
• Provide mentorship and technical leadership to junior engineers and technicians.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on cycle time reduction, build quality, uptime, and escalation reduction.
• Interface directly with suppliers and cross-functional teams to resolve technical and quality‑related issues.

Skills

Technical leadership

Systems thinking

Escalation management

Analytical problem solving

Cross-functional collaboration

Data-driven decision making

Manufacturing mindset

Continuous improvement

Ownership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical/Electrical/Physics/Systems/Optical Engineering or related technical discipline

Tools

Python

MATLAB

Job description

Onto Innovation is seeking a highly experienced Staff Systems Engineer to sustain semiconductor capital equipment manufacturing operations, lead complex technical escalations, and drive cross-functional resolution of system‑level issues.

You will combine systems engineering fundamentals with hands‑on troubleshooting across optics, motion systems, controls, software, electronics, and manufacturing processes.