Applications Development Engineer

Company Overview

Group/Division

Job Description/Preferred Qualifications

Key Responsibilities:

1. Customer Engagement & Technical Support

• Act as a primary technical contact for customers on OFM applications.
• Support tool installation, qualification, and production ramp at customer sites.
• Work closely with customers to understand process challenges and provide optimized metrology solutions.
• Deliver timely troubleshooting and resolution for application-related issues.

2. Application Development

• Develop and optimize recipes for optical metrology (e.g., thin film thickness and material characterization).
• Perform model setup and refinement (e.g., optical stack modeling, Drude-Lorentz fitting).
• Ensure measurement accuracy, repeatability, and correlation to customer reference methods.
• Support both inline process control and offline characterization use cases.

3. Demo & Evaluation Execution

• Execute customer demos, evaluations, and acceptance tests (e.g., Tier-2).
• Prepare and analyze data to demonstrate tool capability and application performance.
• Drive spec closure and meet customer requirements within defined timelines.
• Improve demo efficiency, throughput (T-put), and cycle time.

4. Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with product engineering and R&D teams to report issues and drive improvements.
• Provide feedback on application gaps, customer needs, and competitive insights.
• Collaborate with field service engineers to ensure tool performance and uptime.
• Align with global application teams to leverage best practices.

5. Process & Technology Support

• Support advanced semiconductor applications including: Logic (e.g., HKMG, FinFET/GAA)
• Memory (DRAM, 3D NAND)
• Advanced packaging (e.g., film stacks, redistribution layers)
• Assist in developing new use cases and expanding OFM capability in emerging areas.

6. Operational Excellence

• Maintain high productivity and responsiveness to customer needs.
• Track and improve key metrics: Throughput (T-put)
• Recipe robustness
• Measurement precision and accuracy
• Ensure proper documentation of applications, models, and learnings.

Qualifications:

Education & Experience

• Master’s or PhD in Materials Science, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• 3–8+ years of experience in semiconductor applications, metrology, or process engineering.

Technical Skills

• Knowledge of: Optical metrology (ellipsometry, reflectometry, scatterometry)
• Thin film characterization and modeling
• Semiconductor process integration (logic, memory, or packaging)
• Familiarity with optical modeling techniques (e.g., Drude-Lorentz, RCWA) is a plus.
• Strong data analysis and problem-solving skills.

Soft Skills

• Strong customer-facing communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and in cross-functional teams.
• Detail-oriented with strong execution capability.
• Fast learner with adaptability in a dynamic environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with OFM or similar metrology platforms.
• Experience supporting tool demos or qualifications at customer sites.
• Familiarity with advanced packaging or emerging device structures.

Success Metrics

• Successful tool qualification and customer acceptance
• Application performance (accuracy, stability, robustness)
• Demo/evaluation success rate
• Customer satisfaction and responsiveness
• Contribution to new application enablement

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

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 talent.acquisition@kla.com or at +1-408-352-2808 to request accommodation.

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