System Design 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 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.

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.

Preferred Qualifications

Responsibilities:

• Lead system and subsystem integration, testing, and characterization activities. Define and maintain specifications to ensure optimal performance and reliability.

• Deliver structured training to Manufacturing Engineers and NPI Engineers. Maintain up-to-date product knowledge through regular trainings, including sessions at KLA headquarters.

• Coordinate project activities by actively aligning with stakeholders and perform system level tasks.

• Work with functional groups to define and review designs.

• Work with marketing and engineering teams to define system architecture

• Create and execute test plans to validate system performance

• Support manufacturing and field service teams with optics- and system-related escalations. Resolve technical conflicts, set priorities in line with program objectives, and escalate topics when required.

• Create and maintain clear documentation for design, testing, and diagnostic procedures to enable efficient transfer into manufacturing.

• Provide regular status updates to management through weekly reports and live presentations, ensuring transparency on progress, changes, and risks.

• Ensure alignment with defined group strategies and roadmaps. Conduct periodic reviews to evaluate progress and adjust plans as necessary.

• Act as a driver for new ideas, methods, and ways of working in a fast-evolving and highly competitive industry.

Requirements:

• Proven ability to work independently with minimal supervision and to deliver results within defined timelines.

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across functions.

• Demonstrated track record in analyzing and resolving complex technical issues within focused, multidisciplinary teams.

• Experience in developing or supporting complex optical-mechanical systems or assemblies.

• Experience with scripting languages, such as Python, would be a plus

• Background in optoelectronics, sensor technology, microscopy, optics, or system design and support.

• Professional-level English communication skills, both written and verbal

• International travel requirements up to 20%

Minimum Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, Optics, or a related field, preferably combined with more than three years of relevant professional experience.

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.