PVD Process Engineer (E)

KLA; Newport; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 25 days

Pension scheme

Cash health plan

Cycle to work

Share scheme

Life assurance

Generous shift allowance

Job summary

KLA is seeking a Process Engineer to join our Newport, UK team. You will develop deposition processes for PVD demo equipment, run trials on customer wafers, and generate technical reports for internal and external use.

The role involves collaborating with Product Marketing and hardware teams, supporting field operations, and occasional international travel. Shift work will be required at our Newport Manufacturing HQ.

Qualifications

• Educated to Degree level (or equivalent) in a chemistry, physics, or other relevant field.
• Experience in semiconductor processes is desirable.
• Ability to develop deposition processes and interpret analytical results.

Responsibilities

• Develop new deposition processes and write/interpret process recipes.
• Demonstrate PVD deposition and related processes to meet specs.
• Provide technical reports and remote field support to customers.
• Advise SPTS field teams on application development and process tuning.

Skills

Analytical skills

Problem solving

Communication

Autonomous work

Education

Degree in chemistry, physics or equivalent

Tools

Measurement instruments

Data analysis software

Job description

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 SPTS division provides advanced wafer processing solutions—including etch, deposition and vapor-based technologies—designed for R&D through high-volume production. With a global presence and strong customer support network, SPTS helps manufacturers across industries improve performance, yield and cost-efficiency. It also offers comprehensive service and spare parts through a worldwide network of service centers and qualified local agents.

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.

Process Engineers are core to KLA’s technology, while we do not currently have an opening, we are always building our Process Engineer talent community, we are interested in learning about your background.

Working as part of our PVD Samples team, the primary responsibilities of this role will be to develop deposition processes, and process customer wafers using PVD demo equipment at our Newport Factory!

This will involve working on a number of different process module types and a huge range of applications, generating new process recipes to meet the customer requirements, as well as an element of hardware testing. Additional responsibilities would include writing technical reports for both internal and external use.

This role will also involve advising both SPTS field teams and other members of the Newport team on application development and process tuning, and significant levels of remote customer support activity!

This position will involve some international travel.

This role will require continual shift work alternating between early (6am – 2pm) and late shift (1.30pm – 9.30pm on a weekly basis) with some requirement for occasional weekend work and be based in our Manufacturing Headquarters in Newport, South Wales.

Key Duties

Process Demonstrations

• Work with Product Marketing to tightly define customer demo specifications.
• Run demo tools to demonstrate PVD deposition and ancillary processes to agreed specifications.
• Assess results using analytical equipment and appropriate software packages
• Undertake problem solving and trouble‑shooting
• Provide regular updates to product marketing on progress of sample/demonstration work
• Develop good relationships with Product Marketing, Customers, hardware design and the demo tool maintenance teams.
• Summarise results in written reports and presentations.

Process and hardware Development

• Develop new processes in line with SPTS yearly Roadmaps.
• Plan work and implement plans in a safe, logical and timely manner.
• Work cross department to test enhanced hardware.
• Give constructively to the work of project teams for new products.
• Research into published work relevant to SPTS’ process development

Field Support

• Develop SPTS processes to meet the agreed specification at customer sites i.e. willingness for occasional international travel.
• Provide remote support for customer field critical issues.
• Develop good relationships with local field support teams.
• Coordinate complex responses with co-workers in other departments.

Qualifications & Experience

SPTS is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. For this role we are looking for someone who:

Has some industry experience (ideally Semiconductor)

Educated to Degree level (or equivalent experience) in a chemistry, physics, or other relevant field.

The ideal candidate will have:

• A Creative and innovative approach to problem solving leading to novel but practical solutions.
• The foresight and ability to collect, filter and analyze data to solve complex problems.
• Good analytical skills including the ability to measure films for: thickness, resistance, stress, texture, roughness, reflectivity and X-section.
• Good oral and written communication skills
• The ability to work both autonomously and as part of a small team.

What we will offer you?

KLA’s benefits package includes: Annual leave starting at 25 days (plus bank holidays), contributory pension scheme, cash health plan, cycle to work scheme, global bonus plan, share scheme, rewards scheme, life assurance, generous shift allowance.

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.