Electron Beam Systems Engineer - SEM / Metrology

KLA; Milpitas (CA); On-site; USD 136,000 - 232,000; Full time

Job summary

KLA in Milpitas, CA is seeking a Systems Design Engineer to advance electron beam inspection and metrology systems across hardware, software, and system engineering teams. You will help develop, characterize, and optimize cutting-edge semiconductor inspection solutions to deliver performance improvements on multiple platforms.

The role requires a doctoral or equivalent academic background with 3+ years of related experience and involves travel about 10–20% domestically and internationally to

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in physics or related field.
• 3+ years of experience in semiconductor capital equipment, inspection systems, or microscopy.
• Experience with SEM, EBI, CD-SEM, TEM, or electron optics.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with data-driven approaches.
• Hands-on experience with vacuum technology, charged-particle optics, detectors, imaging, or precision motion control.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to design, integration, characterization, and optimization of advanced electron beam inspection and metrology systems.
• Define system requirements and translate them into subsystem goals.
• Analyze system performance and support trade-off evaluations.
• Troubleshoot complex technical issues affecting system functionality and throughput.
• Develop experiments to characterize system behavior and validate performance.
• Collaborate with manufacturing, engineering, and field teams for new product introduction.

Skills

Analytical & problem-solving

Data-driven decision making

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Education

Doctorate (Academic) Degree

Master's Degree

Bachelor's Degree

Job description

Company Overview

KLA is a global leader in diversified electronics for the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. Virtually every electronic device in the world is produced using our technologies. No laptop, smartphone, wearable device, voice-controlled gadget, flexible screen, VR device or smart car would have made it into your hands without us. KLA invents systems and solutions for the manufacturing of wafers and reticles, integrated circuits, packaging, printed circuit boards and flat panel displays. The innovative ideas and devices that are advancing humanity all begin with inspiration, research and development. KLA focuses more than average on innovation and we invest 15% of sales back into R&D. Our expert teams of physicists, engineers, data scientists and problem-solvers work together with the world's leading technology providers to accelerate the delivery of tomorrow's electronic devices. Life here is exciting and our teams thrive on tackling really hard problems. There is never a dull moment with us.

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. First to deliver the best imaging and classification data for every defect or point on any layer at any time. EBeam's mission encapsulates its role as the "eyes" of KLA's product line, providing timely information on defects and critical locations on the wafer at the highest spatial resolution possible. Customers use EBeam products alongside KLA patterned and bare wafer inspectors to quickly understand the nature of defects and other imperfections on product wafers and take action to correct the manufacturing process.

Job Description/Preferred Qualifications

We're looking for a Systems Design Engineer who enjoys solving complex technical challenges and wants to influence the performance of advanced electron beam inspection systems. In this role, you'll work across hardware, software, and system engineering teams to help develop, characterize, and optimize cutting-edge semiconductor inspection solutions. This is an opportunity to expand beyond a single subsystem and gain broad exposure to complete system performance while contributing to technologies that enable the world's most advanced semiconductor devices.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the design, integration, characterization, and optimization of advanced electron beam inspection and metrology systems.
• Partner with cross-functional engineering teams to define system requirements and translate them into subsystem performance goals.
• Analyze system performance, identify opportunities for improvement, and support technical trade-off evaluations.
• Investigate, troubleshoot, and resolve complex technical issues affecting system functionality, reliability, and throughput.
• Support root cause investigations and corrective actions for development and field-related challenges.
• Develop and execute experiments to characterize system behavior and validate performance against requirements.
• Collaborate with engineering, manufacturing, and field teams to support new product introduction and ongoing product improvements.
• Participate in system-level testing, qualification, and performance validation activities.
• Document technical findings and communicate recommendations to project stakeholders.

Required Qualifications

• Advanced Degree in Physics, Applied Physics, Electron Optics, Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 3+ years of industry experience developing, integrating, supporting, or optimizing complex semiconductor capital equipment, inspection systems, microscopy systems, or related technologies.
• Experience working with one or more of the following:
  • Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
  • Electron Beam Inspection (EBI)
  • Wafer Inspection or Review Systems
  • CD-SEM
  • Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)
  • Electron Optics
  • Advanced Imaging or Metrology Systems
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to diagnose complex technical issues using data-driven approaches.
• Hands-on experience working with complex systems involving vacuum technology, charged particle optics, detectors, imaging systems, precision motion control, or similar technologies.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across multidisciplinary engineering teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience within semiconductor equipment, metrology, inspection, or microscopy industries.
• Familiarity with system integration, performance characterization, and experimental design.
• Experience analyzing large datasets and translating findings into actionable engineering recommendations.
• Exposure to system engineering principles and system-level performance optimization.

Travel

• Ability to travel approximately 10-20% domestically and internationally to support development activities, customer engagements, and product deployments.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means becoming a trusted technical contributor who can connect subsystem behavior to overall system performance. You'll leverage your SEM or eBeam expertise while developing broader systems knowledge, helping improve product performance, troubleshoot challenging issues, and deliver innovative inspection technologies that enable the next generation of semiconductor manufacturing.

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: $136,300.00 - $231,700.00 AnnuallyPrimary Location: USA-CA-Milpitas-KLAKLA'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 including but not limited to: medical, dental, vision, life, and other voluntary benefits including but not

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.

KLA is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We will ensure that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us at [e-mail] or at [phone] to request accommodation.