Field Service Engineer IV; C4 - Technical Lead

About the Company

Applied Materials is a global leader in materials engineering solutions used to produce virtually every new chip and advanced display in the world. We design, build and service cutting‑edge equipment that helps our customers manufacture display and semiconductor chips, the brains of devices we use every day.

Salary: $45.00 - $62.20

Location:

Phoenix, AZ

As a Field Service Engineer [Customer Engineer] at Applied Materials, you serve as the direct liaison with customers, collaborating closely to install, maintain, and upgrade equipment. You'll use digital analytics for troubleshooting and apply basic diagnostic techniques to assess and address technical issues. Your responsibilities include performing preventative and corrective maintenance on various systems such as electrical, vacuum, mechanical, plasma, hydraulic, and gas systems.

Additionally, you'll coordinate and communicate directly with customers to ensure smooth operations and exceptional service.

• Act as the technical authority for CVD equipment hardware and process performance.
• Lead troubleshooting and resolution of complex equipment failures, including:
• Mass Flow Controller (MFC) failures
• Vacuum pump malfunctions
• Heater and temperature control breakdowns
• Gas delivery issues and leak detection
• Perform deep root‑cause analysis for repeat failures, defect excursions, and film non‑uniformity.
• Escalate and drive closure of critical, chronic, or high‑impact tool issues.

• Maintain strong hands‑on expertise in CVD process fundamentals and chamber hardware.
• Support and optimize CVD platforms from AMAT, ASM, or LAM.
• Understand interactions between process conditions, hardware health, defectivity, and yield.
• Partner closely with process engineering to debug defects, uniformity loss, and process drift.

• Allocate engineering resources to daily assignments based on fab priorities and tool status.
• Own machine availability and performance metrics for assigned CVD tools.
• Balance corrective maintenance, preventive maintenance, and improvement activities to support production demand.

• Observe, coach, and mentor junior engineers and technicians directly on the fab floor.
• Establish best practices for troubleshooting, diagnostics, and equipment recovery.
• Provide technical guidance during high‑pressure tool down or yield‑impacting events.

• Drive Continuous Improvement Projects (CIP) focused on hardware reliability, uptime, and cost reduction.
• Lead structured data collection, failure trend analysis, and performance monitoring.
• Generate clear documentation and reports capturing lessons learned and corrective actions.

• Translate complex technical field issues into clear, actionable communication for Business Units.
• Interface with equipment vendors to resolve systemic issues and drive design or hardware improvements.
• Communicate technical risks, priorities, and progress to fab and operations leadership.

• Minimum 5+ years of semiconductor industry experience in one or more of the following areas:
  Field Service Engineering, Process Engineering, Manufacturing / Fab Engineering.
• Strong hands‑on experience supporting CVD equipment in a production fab environment.
• Proven expertise in CVD hardware, process interactions, defectivity, and uniformity troubleshooting.
• Direct experience with AMAT, ASM, or LAM CVD tools.
• Solid understanding of vacuum systems, gas delivery, thermal control, and equipment safety systems.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and resolve complex technical issues in high‑volume manufacturing.

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science & Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering.
• Master’s degree (MS) preferred in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related discipline.

• Strong ownership mindset for equipment uptime and fab performance.
• Data‑driven problem solver with structured root‑cause analysis skills.
• Ability to…