Staff Systems Design 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 Film and Scatterometry Technology (FaST) division delivers industry-leading metrology solutions essential to advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Its portfolio includes systems for measuring film thickness, critical dimensions, composition, and resistivity—key to developing and scaling next-gen IC processes. FaST partners closely with customers from early R&D through high-volume production, ensuring performance and process alignment. 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. We are seeking an experienced and highly influential Staff System Design Engineer to lead the architecture, development, and performance delivery of next-generation Xray - based metrology system. The successful candidate will play a key role in shaping future product roadmaps, driving technical strategy, mitigating system-level risks, and ensuring that product performance meets aggressive customer and business objectives. The ideal candidate is a recognized technical leader with deep expertise in complex system design, system modeling, and performance optimization. This role requires ownership of system architecture and end-to-end error budget development, as well as the ability to guide multidisciplinary teams through the definition, development, integration, and commercialization of breakthrough technologies. Key Responsibilities Lead system architecture definition and technical strategy for next-generation metrology platforms and technology initiatives. Own system-level performance planning, modeling, and error budget development, ensuring performance requirements are translated into measurable subsystem specifications. Define and allocate system requirements across source, optics, detector, mechatronics, vacuum, thermal, controls, and software domains. Drive system-level trade studies and architecture decisions to optimize performance, cost, reliability, manufacturability, and scalability. Lead development and validation of comprehensive system models to predict performance, sensitivities, failure modes, and technology risks. Partner with multidisciplinary engineering teams to identify, quantify, and close performance gaps throughout the product development lifecycle. Serve as the technical lead for system integration, bringing together hardware, software, algorithms, and data flows into a robust production-ready solution. Develop and execute system verification strategies to ensure error budget assumptions and performance targets are achieved. Lead root-cause investigations for complex performance issues, utilizing first-principles analysis, modeling, experimental methods, and statistical approaches. Influence long-term technology roadmaps and incubate new concepts through feasibility studies, prototyping, and technology demonstrations. Mentor and provide technical guidance to system engineers and cross-functional teams, promoting engineering excellence and system-thinking practices across the organization. Represent the system engineering discipline in design reviews, executive reviews, customer meetings, and strategic planning activities. Drive technical alignment across global engineering, manufacturing, service, and supplier organizations. Partner with external technology providers, suppliers, and research institutions to develop and qualify critical technologies and subsystems. Up to 25% global travel required. Preferred Qualifications Deep experience with X-ray metrology, scattering systems, computational imaging, or electron/ion-beam instrumentation. Proven track record leading system architecture and performance development for semiconductor capital equipment. Expertise in system error budgeting, sensitivity analysis, uncertainty quantification, and performance verification methodologies. Familiarity with AI/ML-assisted system optimization or data-driven metrology solutions. Recognized technical leadership through patents, publications, technology roadmaps, or successful commercialization of advanced systems. Minimum Qualifications Doctorate (Academic) Degree and related work experience of 5 years; Master's Level Degree and related work experience of 8 years; Bachelor's Level Degree and related work experience of 12 years. Demonstrated expertise in complex system architecture, system engineering methodologies, and multidisciplinary product development. Extensive experience developing and managing system error budgets, performance models, and system-level requirements. Strong analytical foundation in physics, optics, electronics, mechatronics, controls, or related engineering disciplines. Proven ability to lead technical decision-making and influence engineering direction across multiple teams and organizations. Experience delivering complex capital equipment, instrumentation, or semiconductor manufacturing systems from concept through production. Strong programming and data-analysis capabilities (Python, MATLAB, or equivalent). Exceptional communication, leadership, and technical mentoring skills. Ability to drive ambiguous technical problems to resolution with minimal supervision 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: $186,200.00 - $273,067.00 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 understan