System Design Engineer

Job Title

System Design Engineer

Role Summary

Join KLA's Surfscan product engineering team to define and deliver system-level designs for wafer inspection equipment. The role covers concept development, system requirements, prototyping, validation, and cross-functional collaboration across hardware, software, optics, and manufacturing.

Experience Level

Mid-level. See Education Requirements for degree-based years-of-experience guidance.

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include system design, validation, and cross-disciplinary troubleshooting.

• Develop and evaluate concepts and system-level designs and CIP for new and existing products.
• Lead design efforts: build models, derive requirements, run design reviews, and procure prototype parts.
• Plan and execute experiments to verify component and subsystem performance; analyze test data and report results.
• Define system-level requirements, interfaces, and test plans for SW/HW validation and characterization.
• Troubleshoot complex system issues across software, electronics, mechanics, and optics; write scripts for data collection and analysis.
• Develop performance diagnostics and support manufacturing, applications, and service teams to implement solutions.
• Present technical findings to leadership and global stakeholders.
• Travel up to 25% for collaboration, field support, or validation activities.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience; listed concisely.

• Proven experience troubleshooting and resolving system-level issues spanning software, electronics, mechanics, and optics.
• Experience developing and executing system test plans, validation, and HW/SW integration.
• Strong analytical skills: modeling, data analysis, experimentation, and structured problem-solving (e.g., 8D, 7-step).
• Ability to lead design activities, run reviews, and coordinate cross-functional teams.
• Clear technical communication and presentation skills for global stakeholders.
• Willingness to travel up to 25%.
• Nice-to-have: familiarity with wafer handling & automation, precision motion control, DUV lasers and optics, Time Delay Integration cameras, and image processing systems.
• Nice-to-have: project management experience (scoping, budgeting, scheduling).

Education Requirements

Doctorate degree plus 3 years related experience; Masters degree plus 4 years related experience; Bachelors degree plus 6 years related experience. No specific fields of study or certifications were specified in the posting.

About the Company

Company: KLA

Headquarters: Chennai, India

KLA is a global leader in diversified electronics for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company enables the production of electronic devices by inventing systems and solutions for manufacturing integrated circuits, wafers, and displays. With over 40 years of experience, KLA invests heavily in innovation and R&D to support advanced chip design and manufacturing process optimization, collaborating with top technology providers to deliver future electronic devices.