Skip to content
CV Rocket
Get started
How it worksThe enginePricingBlogContactSign in

Open nowPosted yesterday

Staff Applications Engineer

ONTO229 open roles

Pay
$129,600 – $194,400 a year
Where
Wilmington-MA (Jonspin)
Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.

Your applicationOpen nowStaff Applications EngineerONTO · Wilmington-MA (Jonspin)

  1. YouYes, apply to this one.

  2. CV RocketCV written for this posting.

  3. 25 readersRecruiter, hiring manager, skeptic. Round after round.

  4. CV RocketApplied on ONTO's own form.

The reply lands in your private mailbox

3×more interviews than doing it yourself with ChatGPT.

The clock on this job

Early applications get read.

14.0% of postings close within 7 days. Measured by our own scanner across the market. ONTO postings stay open a median of 29 days.

Share of postings closed within
  1. 2.3%1 day
  2. 4.7%3 days
  3. 14.0%7 days
  4. 22.5%14 days
  5. 38.3%30 days
  6. 59.0%60 days
This job: posted yesterday

ONTO median: 29 days open

The posting

Onto Innovation is a leader in process control, combining global scale with an expanded portfolio of leading-edge technologies that include: 3D metrology spanning the chip from nanometer-scale transistors to micron-level die-interconnects; macro defect inspection of wafers and packages; metal interconnect composition; factory analytics; and lithography for advanced semiconductor packaging. Our breadth of offerings across the entire semiconductor value chain helps our customers solve their most difficult yield, device performance, quality, and reliability issues. Onto Innovation strives to optimize customers’ critical path of progress by making them smarter, faster and more efficient.

Job Summary & Responsibilities

The Staff Applications Engineer is a recognized technical leader responsible for defining, developing, and scaling advanced inspection applications across Onto Innovation's inspection portfolio. This role drives application strategy, influences product roadmap decisions, and serves as a key technical authority for defect inspection, process control, and yield optimization in advanced semiconductor manufacturing.

Working across Product Development, Systems Engineering, Product Management, Marketing, Field Applications, and strategic customers, the Staff Applications Engineer leads complex application initiatives from concept through commercialization, enabling successful new product introductions, accelerating customer adoption, and identifying new market opportunities. This position requires deep expertise in semiconductor process control, defect characterization, metrology, advanced packaging technologies, and customer-facing technical leadership.

Key Responsibilities

Application Strategy, Development & Product Leadership

  • Lead the development and deployment of advanced inspection applications that address critical customer challenges in defect detection, process monitoring, process window optimization, and yield improvement.
  • Define application roadmaps, Best Known Methods (BKMs), and scalable customer workflows that maximize product performance across multiple technology nodes and manufacturing environments.
  • Drive identification and evaluation of emerging application opportunities in wafer-level packaging, panel-level packaging, heterogeneous integration, advanced packaging, and next-generation semiconductor technologies.
  • Lead product characterization, benchmarking, qualification, and validation efforts that influence product requirements, design decisions, and commercialization strategies.
  • Translate customer needs, market trends, and technology challenges into actionable product enhancements and future roadmap recommendations.
  • Serve as the technical authority for complex application issues, delivering innovative solutions to challenging process control and inspection problems.

Customer Engagement & Industry Leadership

  • Lead strategic customer engagements, executive-level technical reviews, and high-visibility evaluations with key semiconductor manufacturers and R&D organizations.
  • Drive customer demonstrations, proof-of-concept studies, and benchmark evaluations that validate competitive differentiation and accelerate technology adoption.
  • Partner with customers to develop novel use cases, application methodologies, and process solutions that create measurable manufacturing value.
  • Act as a trusted technical advisor to customers, providing guidance on inspection strategies, defect reduction, process optimization, and factory implementation.
  • Support product launches, industry conferences, technical publications, and customer workshops to position Onto Innovation as a technology leader.

Cross-Functional Technical Leadership

  • Lead cross-functional teams in defining application requirements and influencing product architecture, system capabilities, and future development priorities.
  • Provide technical mentorship and thought leadership to Applications Engineers, Field Applications Engineers, and other engineering teams across the organization.
  • Drive alignment across Engineering, Product Management, Product Marketing, Operations, and Customer Support to ensure successful product deployment and customer outcomes.
  • Establish best practices, technical standards, and scalable application methodologies across the applications organization.
  • Author and review technical documentation, validation reports, white papers, training materials, and customer-facing technical content.

Innovation & Organizational Impact

  • Identify emerging technology trends, competitive developments, and market opportunities that shape future application and product strategies.
  • Lead highly complex, business-critical initiatives with broad organizational impact and measurable influence on product success, customer satisfaction, and revenue growth.
  • Influence strategic decisions through deep technical expertise, customer insight, and market knowledge.
  • Represent Onto Innovation as a subject matter expert internally and externally, helping drive industry adoption of next-generation inspection solutions.

Preferred Staff-Level Differentiators

  • Recognized subject matter expert in semiconductor inspection, process control, defect characterization, or advanced packaging applications.
  • Demonstrated ability to influence product strategy, technology direction, and business outcomes across multiple organizations.
  • Experience leading large-scale customer engagements with top-tier semiconductor manufacturers.
  • Proven track record of mentoring engineers and providing technical leadership without direct managerial authority.
  • Ability to operate independently on highly ambiguous and strategically important initiatives with company-wide impact.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, or a related technical discipline with 8+ years of semiconductor industry experience.

OR

  • Master's degree with 5+ years of relevant industry experience.

OR

  • Ph.D. in a relevant technical discipline with 3+ years of relevant industry experience

Additional Requirements

  • Strong understanding of semiconductor manufacturing, defect inspection, and process control.
  • Experience developing and deploying semiconductor inspection applications.
  • Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and communication skills.
  • Ability to work effectively in a cross-functional environment.
  • Willingness to travel to support customer engagements and demonstrations.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience with semiconductor inspection, metrology, process control, or advanced packaging solutions.
  • Knowledge of wafer-level and panel-level packaging technologies, manufacturing processes, and process control challenges.
  • Experience supporting New Product Introduction (NPI) activities.
  • Experience leading customer demonstrations, proof-of-concept evaluations, or technical projects.
  • Demonstrated leadership through mentoring engineers, leading cross-functional projects, or coordinating technical teams.

Why Join Onto Innovation?

At Onto Innovation, we believe your work should matter—and so should your well-being. That’s why we offer competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package designed to support you and your family. From health, dental, and vision coverage to life and disability insurance, PTO, and a 401(k) with employer match, we’ve got you covered. You’ll also enjoy access to our Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP), wellness initiatives, and cutting-edge tools—all within a collaborative, inclusive culture where your contributions are valued and recognized.

Compensation & Growth

• Base Salary Range:

$129,600.00 - $194,400.00, offered in good faith and based on experience, location, and qualifications.

  • Additional Rewards: Annual bonus opportunities and potential long-term incentives tied to both company and individual success.

Empowering Every Voice to Shape the Future:

Onto Innovation is committed to creating a workplace where every qualified candidate has an equal opportunity to succeed. We evaluate applicants based on skills, experience, and potential - without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We believe diversity of thought and background drives innovation and strengthens our team.

Important Note on Export Compliance

For certain positions requiring access to technical data, U.S. export licensing review may be necessary for applicants who are not U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, or other protected persons under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).

From $25, paid onceGet the CV for this job

What happens when you press

One press. We do the rest.

  1. A CV for this posting

    Written against ONTO's own wording, from every piece of relevant proof in your profile.

  2. 25 readers review it

    Recruiter, hiring manager, skeptic and more read every draft, round after round. You get the best round.

    The review screen in CV Rocket: how each CV was read, round by round.

  3. We apply on ONTO's form

    Our application engine gets through the hardest forms there are. Where a question needs you, AI suggests the best answer. Don't want us applying from our IP addresses? Use our Chrome extension: we apply straight from your own browser.

    An application in CV Rocket: every answer filled in on the employer's form.

  4. Every reply, sorted

    ONTO's answer lands in your private mailbox, and we classify it on arrival: interview, question, rejection.

    The CV Rocket inbox: each employer reply classified as an interview, an action or a rejection.

  5. Reply with AI

    AI helps you write the email, checks it and sends it. We show you whether the recruiter read it.

  6. The interview in your calendar

    Full integration with your calendar. The invitation goes straight in.

    An interview invitation in the CV Rocket inbox, added to the candidate's calendar.
Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.

Why it works

3×

more interviews than doing it yourself with ChatGPT.

ChatGPT writes a CV and never learns what happened to it. We see every reply. For each CV we know:

  • How it was written, and how the review scored it
  • When we applied, and how long after the posting went up
  • Which posting, which company, which city
  • Who got the interview, and who heard nothing

That is how we know which CVs get called.

Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.

The numbers game

More applications. More interviews.

Every application goes out with its own CV, written for that posting and paid once. Send enough of them and the law of large numbers finds you the job.

Get the CV for this job
By hand5–10
With CV Rocket100
applications a day

Nearby

Live postings like this one

Same employer first, then the same role elsewhere.

Before you press

Straight answers

Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.

What if my background isn't good enough?

We make the most of the background you have. The CV uses every piece of relevant proof your profile holds, and one of the 25 readers reads your whole profile and flags what the CV left out.

Do you really apply for me?

Yes, on the employer's own form, the hardest ones included. Where a question needs you, you answer it right there and AI suggests the best answer. Don't want us applying from our IP addresses? Use our Chrome extension: we apply straight from your own browser.

Is it a subscription?

No. You pay once per CV, from $25. Every application goes out with its own CV, written for that posting.

One job. One CV.
Paid once.

Pick the posting you want. We write for it, apply for you and catch the reply.

Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.