Etch Process Engineer

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.

Group/Division

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 SPTS division provides advanced wafer processing solutions—including etch, deposition and vapor-based technologies—designed for R&D through high-volume production. With a global presence and strong customer support network, SPTS helps manufacturers across industries improve performance, yield and cost-efficiency. It also offers comprehensive service and spare parts through a worldwide network of service centers and qualified local agents.

What You'll Do

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

Working as part of our Etch Samples team, the primary responsibility of this role is to develop plasma etch processes and process customer wafers using demonstration equipment. The successful candidate will document and report on all work completed following sample processing activities.

The role involves working across a variety of process modules, developing new process recipes to meet customer requirements across the full range of technologies supported by SPTS. There will also be opportunities to contribute to hardware testing and development activities as required.

Additional responsibilities include providing technical support to customers, writing technical reports for both internal and external audiences, generating intellectual property (IP) submissions, and supporting other business units where needed.

Key Responsibilities

Process Demonstrations

• Demonstrate plasma etch processes in line with agreed specifications.
• Evaluate process results using analytical equipment and relevant software tools.
• Perform problem-solving and troubleshooting activities.
• Provide regular progress updates on sample and demonstration work to the Product Marketing team.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with customers.
• Summarise and communicate results through technical reports, presentations, and customer updates.

Process Development

• Develop plasma etch processes aligned with SPTS product capabilities and customer requirements.
• Plan and execute work safely, efficiently, and within agreed timescales.
• Utilise a range of endpoint detection techniques to optimise process control.
• Conduct marathon and reliability testing for new processes and equipment.
• Contribute to cross-functional project teams developing new products and process technologies.
• Prepare technical documentation to support patent applications, publications, and conference presentations.

Field Support

• Develop and optimise SPTS processes at customer sites to meet agreed performance specifications.
• Establish, develop, and maintain strong customer relationships.
• Provide technical support and troubleshooting assistance to customers as required.

Qualifications and Experience

The successful candidate will have:

• A BSc/BEng in Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science, Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent industry experience.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with experience using metrology techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).
• Knowledge of endpoint detection techniques, with hands-on experience desirable.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively across teams.
• The ability to work independently with minimal supervision, while also contributing effectively within a collaborative team environment.

What we will offer you?

Annual leave starting at 25 days (plus bank holidays), share scheme, contributory pension scheme, cash health plan, cycle to work scheme, global bonus plan, rewards scheme, life assurance.

Occasional domestic and international travel, including to the United States, may be required as part of this role (subject to business requirements) to support customer installations and development activities. Occasional shift work may also be required. Certain roles at KLA may require permits, licenses or other approvals to access specific technologies, systems or information, and obtaining such approvals may form part of the assessment process for the role.

Minimum Qualifications

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About KLA

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 universe. If you want to make electronics that push industries forward and make the world a better place, join us.

Use of AI Statement 

At KLA, our interviews seek to understand your individual skills, problem-solving approach and authentic thinking. To ensure a fair and consistent evaluation, the use of AI, recording tools or other technologies to generate, suggest or provide responses during interviews—whether virtual or in person—is not permitted unless explicitly approved in advance as part of a reasonable accommodation or invited by the interviewer. Use of these tools may interfere with our ability to evaluate your individual qualifications and affect your candidacy. KLA is committed to advancing innovation through responsible AI, and we value candidates who share this mindset.

We offer a competitive, family friendly total rewards package. We design our programs to reflect our commitment to an inclusive environment, while ensuring we provide benefits that meet the diverse needs of our employees.

KLA is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.