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Applied Materials, Lam Research and KLA: Jobs and Salaries
Semiconductor Jobs Semiconductor Equipment Applied Materials Lam Research KLA Semiconductor Salaries

Applied Materials, Lam Research and KLA: Jobs and Salaries

On October 12, 2026, Applied Materials unveiled its $5 billion Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization (EPIC) Center in Sunnyvale, California. The facility is designed for collaborative R&D between tool manufacturers, chipmakers, and academic partners to speed up transitions from lab discovery to high-volume semiconductor manufacturing.

Looking at active postings in our job index, the Big 3 US equipment makers currently account for 4,508 open positions worldwide.

Open Positions by Company

  • Applied Materials: 2,014 active jobs
  • Lam Research: 1,398 active jobs
  • KLA Corporation: 1,096 active jobs
  • (Reference: ASML currently holds 677 active openings)

Together, these three companies represent approximately 15% of all active engineering vacancies in our tracked database.

Where the Roles Are Located

At Applied Materials:

  • Santa Clara / Silicon Valley, CA: 414 active roles (corporate headquarters and EPIC Center development).
  • Singapore: 330 active roles (regional manufacturing and supply chain).
  • Austin, Texas: 181 active roles (volume tool manufacturing and software integration).
  • Bangalore, India: 146 active roles (design engineering and simulation).
  • Gloucester, Massachusetts: 45 active roles (ion implantation business unit).

At Lam Research, while the primary US base remains Fremont and Livermore, California, the company recently announced 200 specialized hires in Singapore targeted directly at advanced packaging, High Bandwidth Memory, and silicon photonics equipment.

Applied Materials Openings by Discipline

Unlike fabless chipmakers where digital logic dominates, the discipline distribution at Applied Materials breaks down as follows:

  • Semiconductor Equipment Engineering: 767 roles (mechanical design, vacuum chambers, robot handling, gas distribution)
  • Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering: 252 roles
  • Technical Program Management: 132 roles
  • Software and Firmware Engineering: 85 roles (tool automation, SECS/GEM, control software)
  • Process Engineering: 79 roles (customer recipe development, etch, and deposition chemistry)

Posted US Salary Ranges

For US postings that include a salary range:

  • Applied Materials (617 salary-disclosed US postings): Base salary ranges average $123,312 (minimum) to $169,256 (maximum), with medians of $124,000 to $171,000. Senior engineering and director roles reach $170,000 to $285,000+ base. Verified examples include the Applied Materials Director of RF Systems Engineering in Santa Clara ($206,000–$283,500) and the Manager for New Product Transition in Austin ($120,000–$165,000).
  • Lam Research (213 salary-disclosed US postings): Base salary ranges average $113,172 to $245,863 (medians of $114,000 to $253,000), with senior staff and principal process engineers topping out above $250,000 to $310,000 base.
  • KLA Corporation (302 salary-disclosed US postings): Base salary ranges average $121,516 to $200,219 (medians of $117,800 to $200,300), reflecting a mix of optics, imaging sensors, and field application engineering requisitions across Milpitas, CA and Ann Arbor, MI.

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