Staff Applications Scientist — AI-Driven OCD Validation Lead

Onto Innovation; Hillsboro (OR); On-site; USD 130,000 - 194,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision coverage

Life and disability insurance

PTO

401(k) with employer match

ESPP

Wellness initiatives

Job summary

Onto Innovation is seeking a Staff Applications Scientist based in Hillsboro, Oregon to lead AI-assisted OCD validation and recipe development. You will collaborate with Applications, Software, AI/ML, and Engineering to validate solutions that reduce engineering effort while preserving model quality and customer acceptance.

The role requires extensive semiconductor metrology expertise, ability to travel, and the ability to work across teams to deliver validated, production-ready capabilities.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or Master’s in physics/optical/engineering or related technical field.
• Strong experience in semiconductor metrology, optical metrology, OCD, thin-film measurement.
• Experience developing or validating metrology recipes and models.
• Willingness to travel internationally ~20%.

Responsibilities

• Establish baseline TTS measurements and a standardized OCD recipe-validation framework.
• Validate AI-generated recipes against engineering methods and fab benchmarks.
• Lead technical validation of Logic applications (Thin Film, GAA).
• Support customer and fab pilots including validation at customer sites.
• Evaluate model accuracy and robustness prior to deployment.
• Develop validation methodologies, test cases, and documentation for new capabilities.
• Offer technical liaison between customer teams and internal AI/ML, software, and engineering groups.

Skills

Semiconductor metrology

Optical metrology

OCD knowledge

Thin-film measurement

Data analysis

Education

Ph.D. or Master's in Physics/Optical/Engineering

Tools

AI/ML workflows

OCD recipe tooling

Job description

Onto Innovation is seeking a Staff Applications Scientist based in Hillsboro, Oregon to lead AI-assisted OCD validation and recipe development. You will collaborate with Applications, Software, AI/ML, and Engineering to validate solutions that reduce engineering effort while preserving model quality and customer acceptance.

The role requires extensive semiconductor metrology expertise, ability to travel, and the ability to work across teams to deliver validated, production-ready capabilities.