Software Engineer II (Distributed / Scalable Systems)

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 e-Beam division plays a critical role in KLA’s inspection ecosystem, with tools that deliver high-resolution, timely insights into defects and critical locations on the wafer. Used alongside KLA’s patterned and bare wafer inspectors, e-Beam systems help our customers quickly identify and understand yield-impacting issues—enabling faster, more effective actions to correct the manufacturing process.

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.

Join a team building software that runs at the core of some of the most advanced semiconductor systems in the world. In this role, you won’t just ship code, you’ll own features end-to-end, solve complex system-level problems, and see your work deployed on highly sophisticated equipment that operates at scale.

Responsibilities

• Drive end-to-end development of software features within complex, production-grade systems—from requirements through design, implementation, testing, and release
• Translate ambiguous system and customer requirements into scalable, maintainable software designs in a multi-disciplinary environment
• Contribute to architecture and design discussions, ensuring solutions are robust, extensible, and aligned to long-term system evolution
• Write high-quality, production-level code with a strong emphasis on performance, scalability, and reliability across distributed or multi-threaded systems
• Identify, analyze, and resolve complex technical issues; perform root cause analysis and implement durable fixes in production environments
• Proactively assess and mitigate technical risks, influencing design decisions and driving trade-off discussions with cross-functional stakeholders
• Collaborate closely with hardware, systems, and interdisciplinary engineering teams to deliver integrated solutions on complex equipment platforms
• Contribute to code reviews, mentor junior engineers, and uphold best practices in software development, testing, and documentation
• Operate with a high level of ownership and accountability, balancing multiple priorities in a fast-paced, delivery-focused environment

Qualifications

• Industry experience in software development (Master’s preferred or equivalent experience), building and delivering production software systems
• Strong proficiency in object-oriented programming and design, with hands-on experience implementing scalable software systems
• Experience developing in C#, Java, or Python, with demonstrated ability to write production-quality code
• Experience working with databases (SQL or NoSQL) and designing data-driven applications
• Solid understanding of software architecture principles, data structures, and algorithms
• Proven ability to debug and troubleshoot complex systems, with experience in multi-threaded or distributed environments
• Experience working on medium-to-large scale software projects with measurable impact (not just academic or short-term work)
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across engineering teams
• Develop, deploy, and manage containerized applications using Docker, ensuring efficient packaging and consistency across environments.
• Orchestrate and scale applications on Kubernetes, handling cluster configuration, deployments, and monitoring for high availability and performance.

What Differentiates You

• Experience working in system-level or hardware-integrated environments (instrument control, machine software, or similar)
• Demonstrated ability to take ownership of features or subsystems and drive them to production
• Comfort operating in complex systems where software interacts with physical hardware or large-scale infrastructure

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

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.

Total Rewards

Base Pay Range: $136,300.00 - $199,900.00 Annually
Primary Location: USA-CA-Milpitas-KLA

KLA’s total rewards package for employees may also include participation in performance incentive programs and eligibility for additional benefits including but not limited to: medical, dental, vision, life, and other voluntary benefits, 401(K) including company matching, employee stock purchase program (ESPP), student debt assistance, tuition reimbursement program, development and career growth opportunities and programs, financial planning benefits, wellness benefits including an employee assistance program (EAP), paid time off and paid company holidays, and family care and bonding leave.

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.

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.

Equal Opportunity Statement

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.

For additional information, view the US Know Your Rights poster on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website.