Senior Systems Engineer - Semiconductor Equipment

Applied Materials; Gloucester (MA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 192,000; Full time

Job summary

Applied Materials in Gloucester, MA is seeking a Systems Engineer IV to own end-to-end systems engineering for complex semiconductor capital equipment subsystems. You will lead cross-functional teams across mechanical, electrical, software, manufacturing, and supply chain to deliver high‑performance, field‑ready systems.

The role emphasizes NPI support, continuous improvement, and engagement with customers and leadership to drive reliable solutions and scalable production.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Systems, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering.
• 8+ years of experience in systems engineering, product development, or semiconductor capital equipment.
• Strong background in complex electro-mechanical systems and system integration.
• Demonstrated experience leading root cause investigations and reliability improvements.
• Proven ability to operate independently on ambiguous, high-impact problems.
• Experience with vacuum systems, robotics, motion control, or wafer-handling subsystems.
• Familiarity with DFMEA, PFMEA, qualification methodologies, and structured problem-solving tools.
• Experience supporting fab environments and customer-facing escalations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to influence technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Own system-level requirements, architecture, and performance for assigned tool subsystems and assemblies.
• Lead system integration, trade studies, and design reviews to ensure alignment with reliability, manufacturability, serviceability, and customer requirements.
• Drive technical decision-making across cross-functional teams; influence without authority.
• Lead root cause analysis (RCA) for complex field and factory issues using data-driven methods (FA, DFMEA, FRACAS, Pareto, trend analysis).
• Define and execute corrective and preventive actions (CAPA), including hardware, software, and process changes.
• Own qualification and validation plans to ensure fixes meet performance, reliability, and customer acceptance criteria.
• Support NPI programs from concept through qualification, release, and field ramp.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives (CIPs) focused on uptime, reliability, cost, and manufacturability.
• Partner with manufacturing and supply chain to enable scalable production and smooth ramp.
• Serve as the technical interface between engineering, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and customer engineering.
• Present technical findings and recommendations to senior technical leadership and customers.
• Support customer escalations and on-site activities as required.

Skills

Systems engineering

Semiconductor capital equipment

Root cause analysis

Reliability improvements

Independent problem solving

Cross-functional collaboration

NPI

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Systems, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering

Tools

DFMEA

PFMEA

Qualification methodologies

Structured problem solving tools

Job description

Applied Materials in Gloucester, MA is seeking a Systems Engineer IV to own end-to-end systems engineering for complex semiconductor capital equipment subsystems. You will lead cross-functional teams across mechanical, electrical, software, manufacturing, and supply chain to deliver high‑performance, field‑ready systems.

The role emphasizes NPI support, continuous improvement, and engagement with customers and leadership to drive reliable solutions and scalable production.