System Engineer; Optics

To make electronics, you need chips, wafers, transistors, reticles, and... To make these, you must see, test and manufacture them at scale—faster and better than ever before. That's where KLA comes in. Whether you're early in your career or an experienced professional, you'll solve complex challenges, work alongside brilliant minds and help shape the future of technology.

The Semiconductor Products and Customers (Semi PC) business unit designs, builds and sells KLA’s product portfolio to help chip manufacturers meet high-quality standards for technologies like AI, data centers, automotive and electronic devices. Our inspection, metrology, and analytics systems detect and monitor defects across logic and memory chips, specialty semiconductors, wafers, reticles, advanced packaging, process equipment and materials. We also develop technologies for specialty processes, IC substrates, and PCB manufacturing, including etch and deposition, component inspection, and imaging and analytics.

The LS-SWIFT division delivers high-throughput patterned wafer inspection systems that support advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Its mission is to provide industry-leading defect detection with optimal cost of ownership across a wide range of applications. LS systems enable precise, cost-effective inspection for cutting-edge process nodes, while SWIFT systems offer comprehensive macro inspection of all wafer surfaces—capabilities that are especially critical for advanced packaging, as well as logic, memory, and automotive applications.

In this role, you will play a key part in advancing business priorities by delivering high-impact work across your area of expertise.

• Responsible for subsystem design/development, system integration, test and characterization
• Provide system trouble shooting, new product introduction and escalation support
• Define system and subsystem specifications
• Document manufacturing procedures
• Derive and manage detailed systems design requirements and drive systems validation following PLC process
• Support Escalation and Beta On-site charactrization
• Cover all aspects of the manufacturing introduction, including: design for manufacturability, quality, tooling, training, process documentation, product structure, build process optimization and facilities requirements

• Advanced degree in applied optics, electrical engineering, applied physics or related disciplines
• Effective communicator with good interpersonal skills
• Extensive hands‑on experience in building/testing optical inspection or metrology tools
• Desired experience developing or supporting complex optical‑mechanical systems or assemblies
• Desired experience in optoelectronics, sensor technology, microscopy, optics, or systems design/support
• Strong diagnostic and trouble shooting skills in optics, opto‑mechanics, and motion control systems
• Must be focused and driven with an appropriate sense of urgency
• Outspoken individual with clear project vision and sense of purpose
• Proven track record of technical development and/or issues resolution
• Good problem solver who is comfortable leading a focused team
• Good understanding of imaging processing system and algorithms
• Familiar with Python and JavaScript would be a plus

• Doctorate (Academic) OR Master's Level Degree with at least 3 years of experience
• Bachelor's Level Degree with at least 5 years of experience

We provide advanced inspection tools, metrology systems, process solutions, and computational analytics that make electronics possible, tackling complex challenges. From electron and photon optics to machine learning and data analytics, we seek perfection at the most fundamental level of matter in the…