Semiconductor Metrology R&D Engineer

PDF Solutions; Milpitas (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

PDF Solutions in Milpitas, CA, is seeking an R&D engineer with a strong experimental-science background to advance eProbe semiconductor inspection tools through hands-on characterization, data analysis, and algorithm development. This is not an IT, infrastructure, or enterprise systems role.

The ideal candidate has a Ph.D. (or equivalent) in Physics, Applied Physics, or Materials Science, enjoys ambiguous R&D problems, and can drive an investigation from hypothesis through measured result to an

Qualifications

• PhD in Physics, Applied Physics, Materials Science, or a related field.
• Experience designing original experiments and analyzing data.
• Strong intuition for measurement systems, noise, dynamics, and error analysis.
• Hands-on lab experience with precision instrumentation.
• Python for scientific computing and data analysis.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute experiments to characterize and improve semiconductor inspection tool performance.
• Investigate complex measurement-system behavior using a first-principles / physical-reasoning approach.
• Develop and prototype algorithms in Python based on experimental data and engineering models.
• Analyze large technical datasets to quantify system behavior, uncertainty, and improvement opportunities.
• Translate R&D findings into clear recommendations for product, process, or algorithm changes.
• Document experimental methods and results for internal reuse and technical review.
• Present findings to cross-functional teams; support customer-facing technical discussions as needed.
• Partner with hardware, firmware, software, and applications engineering to validate ideas on real tools.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of characterization methods, analysis workflows, and tool capabilities.
• Help triage and root-cause challenging technical issues that require experimental and analytical depth.

Skills

Python for scientific computing

Data analysis

Experiment design

Communication

Education

PhD in Physics/Applied Physics/Materials Science

Tools

Python

Oscilloscopes

Verilog/SystemVerilog

Job description

PDF Solutions in Milpitas, CA, is seeking an R&D engineer with a strong experimental-science background to advance eProbe semiconductor inspection tools through hands-on characterization, data analysis, and algorithm development. This is not an IT, infrastructure, or enterprise systems role.

The ideal candidate has a Ph.D. (or equivalent) in Physics, Applied Physics, or Materials Science, enjoys ambiguous R&D problems, and can drive an investigation from hypothesis through measured result to an