Physicist - Electro Optics 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.

Lead and evolve global electrical engineering standards, specifications, and design guidelines across a diverse facilities portfolio.

Review electrical designs for capital projects, infrastructure upgrades, and critical facility improvements to support consistency, quality, and compliance.

Guide technical strategy for power distribution, UPS, generators, transfer systems, and other critical power infrastructure.

Partner with cross-functional teams to improve resiliency, operational readiness, and long-term facility performance.

Support renewable energy and electrification initiatives, including solar, battery storage, EV charging, and utility coordination where relevant.

Translate technical requirements into clear standards, design guidance, and executive-ready summaries.

Preferred Qualifications

The Gaia R&D group develops advanced electro-optical metrology systems for semiconductor inspection applications. The group is responsible for optical development, laboratory experimentation, system integration, validation, and troubleshooting from prototype stage to production tool.

As a Physicist / Electro-Optical Engineer, you will lead hands-on development of optical and metrology systems, including design, simulation, alignment, testing, integration, and performance validation.

You will work closely with mechanics, algorithms, and system engineers to develop and validate optical solutions for next-generation semiconductor inspection and metrology products.

Key Day-to-Day Responsibilities:

Optical and electro-optical system development.

Laboratory setup design, alignment, and testing.

System integration, validation, and troubleshooting.

Optical modeling, data analysis, and performance evaluation.

Working with mechanics, algorithms, and system engineering teams.

Developing semiconductor inspection and metrology solutions.

Minimum Qualifications

• M.Sc. in Physics, Electro-Optics, Optical Engineering, or related exact science field.

• Hands-on experience with optical systems and laboratory work.

• Experience with MATLAB, Python, and optical simulation tools such as Zemax.

• Experience in semiconductor inspection or metrology systems is an advantage.

• Strong problem-solving, collaboration, and communication skills.

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.