System Design Engineer

Job Title

System Design Engineer

Role Summary

Hands-on engineering role on KLA's ADE Sustaining Engineering team supporting fielded and pre-production semiconductor inspection/metrology equipment. The engineer diagnoses performance, reliability, and quality issues across optics, interferometry, vibration, motion control, and electronics, and drives corrective actions with cross-functional teams.

Position requires lab and tool-level troubleshooting on live hardware, validation testing, and technical leadership; the role may evolve into a people-management position as the organization grows.

Experience Level

Mid-level. Typical hands-on engineering experience expected is approximately 3–6 years depending on degree and background; the role requires independent technical execution and leadership on complex hardware systems.

Responsibilities

Execute system-level validation, troubleshooting, and corrective actions for high-precision semiconductor equipment.

• Perform hands-on lab and system testing of optical, mechanical, and electromechanical subsystems.
• Troubleshoot optical systems including interferometers and precision imaging paths.
• Diagnose vibration sensitivity and environmental-performance issues and propose mitigations.
• Debug precision motion control stages, actuators, motors, encoders, and servos.
• Investigate electronics, sensors, and control-interface failures.
• Design, execute, and document validation, characterization, and reliability tests at component, subsystem, and system levels.
• Lead root-cause investigations using data analysis, physical inspection, and experimentation; develop and validate corrective actions.
• Analyze field and lab data to identify trends and failure mechanisms and recommend design or process changes.
• Collaborate with design, manufacturing, service, quality, and suppliers to implement fixes and product improvements.
• Produce clear technical documentation, test reports, and engineering recommendations for design reviews and releases.

Requirements

Core technical skills and hands-on experience required; degree details are summarized under Education Requirements below.

• Must-have: Proven hands-on lab experience supporting complex hardware systems and installed base or sustaining activities.
• Must-have: Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot and root-cause issues on physical systems (beyond modeling/simulation).
• Must-have: Working knowledge in one or more areas: optical systems/interferometry, vibration measurement/mitigation, precision motion control, electronics and sensor interfaces.
• Must-have: Ability to plan and execute experiments, testing, and validation independently.
• Must-have: Strong written and verbal communication; ability to document technical findings clearly.
• Nice-to-have: Experience with semiconductor inspection, metrology, or lithography-adjacent equipment and supporting fielded products.
• Nice-to-have: Familiarity with vibration metrics, environmental specifications, or facility interaction effects.
• Nice-to-have: Experience with data analysis tools such as MATLAB or Python for test-data evaluation.

Education Requirements

Required: Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Optical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a closely related technical field, or equivalent practical experience. Experience expectations relative to degree: PhD (0–2 years), MS (2–4 years), BS (4–6 years). Minimum-qualification guidance in the posting notes comparable mappings (Doctorate with 0 years; Master's with ~3 years; Bachelor's with ~5 years).

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.