The posting
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.
KLA is seeking an experienced Software Engineer to help build the next generation of AI-driven analytics and automation solutions for advanced semiconductor manufacturing systems. In this role, you will develop intelligent software platforms that combine large-scale equipment data, hardware telemetry, machine diagnostics, and Agentic AI technologies to improve equipment performance, reliability, and productivity.
Working at the intersection of software, AI, big data, and complex hardware systems, you will build scalable applications that enable semiconductor engineers to diagnose issues, predict failures, and interact with sophisticated electron-beam inspection and metrology tools using natural language.
This is a hands-on engineering role with global impact. The solutions you develop will be deployed within semiconductor manufacturing facilities worldwide, supporting some of the most advanced hardware systems used in semiconductor production.
Responsibilities
- Design and develop production-quality software solutions supporting AI-driven equipment diagnostics, monitoring, and predictive maintenance.
- Build and enhance Agentic AI frameworks that integrate large language models (LLMs) with engineering and equipment data systems.
- Develop software that interfaces with complex hardware platforms, equipment telemetry streams, machine control systems, and manufacturing data sources.
- Integrate AI technologies with scalable data platforms, including streaming architectures, NoSQL databases, vector databases, and knowledge management systems.
- Build secure APIs, services, and orchestration layers that support intelligent workflows and automated decision-making.
- Develop high-performance data pipelines that transform equipment and operational data into actionable insights.
- Create intuitive user experiences and modern web applications that simplify troubleshooting and equipment diagnostics.
- Collaborate across software, systems, hardware, data science, and product engineering teams to deliver end-to-end solutions.
- Deploy and support solutions operating in highly secure, customer-controlled semiconductor manufacturing environments.
- Drive software design, code quality, testing, and continuous improvement initiatives across the platform.
Qualifications Required:
- BS or MS in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.
- 5+ years of professional software engineering experience developing production applications.
- Strong programming skills in Python and at least one object-oriented language such as Java, C++, or C#.
- Experience developing scalable backend services, APIs, databases, and distributed software systems.
- Experience working with hardware-integrated software systems, industrial equipment, manufacturing systems, instrumentation, embedded interfaces, controls software, telemetry systems, or IoT platforms.
- Experience building data-intensive applications using SQL, NoSQL, streaming platforms, or large-scale data processing technologies.
- Familiarity with cloud-native development, CI/CD pipelines, source control, automated testing, and modern software engineering practices.
- Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills with the ability to work across multidisciplinary engineering teams.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with semiconductor equipment, manufacturing systems, inspection systems, industrial automation, robotics, or scientific instrumentation.
- Experience developing applications utilizing LLMs, Agentic AI frameworks, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), tool/function calling, or AI orchestration frameworks.
- Experience with vector databases, knowledge graphs, machine learning pipelines, or predictive analytics solutions.
- Experience developing React-based user interfaces or modern web applications.
- Understanding of equipment diagnostics, predictive maintenance, reliability engineering, or operational analytics.
- Experience deploying software in secure, disconnected, or air-gapped environments.
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 [email protected] 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.
