Applications Engineering Manager - Milpitas, CA, United States
$127,300 - $216,400 USD yearly
Originally posted 14 August 2026 by the employer.
Support applications for reticle inspection solutions.
About the role
This role involves leading applications support, customer engagement, and product validation for semiconductor manufacturing metrology and inspection products.
What you'll do
- Lead New Product Introduction (NPI) and product validation efforts.
- Drive customer evaluations and product demonstrations.
- Oversee critical customer and field escalations.
- Collaborate with product marketing and engineering to define new product features.
- Establish and drive worldwide Applications Engineering training programs.
- Build and develop a team of Applications Engineers.
What you'll need
- M.S. or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, Optics, Semiconductor Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
- 8+ years of experience in the semiconductor equipment industry, semiconductor manufacturing, or related process technologies.
- Demonstrated expertise in reticle manufacturing, reticle inspection, lithography, process control, or optical inspection technologies.
- Proven experience leading Applications Engineering, Product Applications, Field Applications, Product Development, or related technical teams.
- Experience supporting New Product Introduction (NPI), including alpha and beta testing, product characterization, and customer qualifications.
- Track record of successfully driving customer evaluations, technical demonstrations, and product adoption programs.
- Experience managing complex customer escalations and leading cross-functional teams to resolve technical challenges.
- Experience developing and delivering technical training programs and establishing best practices, BKMs, and knowledge-sharing processes.
Skills: applications support, customer engagement, product validation, reticle inspection, lithography
This role has been open 64 days — below the 71-day median for Applications FAE roles.
Applications FAE · Metrology Inspection
|
Open roles in category
128
|
Median days open
71 d
|
Median salary
$128k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | KLA Corporation | All employers we track in this specialty (128 roles · 7 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 94 | 128 |
| Median days open | 65 d | 71 d (−6 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $128k |
Skills observed across this category: applications support, customer engagement, product validation, reticle inspection, lithography
Who's hiring in this category
- KLA Corporation (this employer) · 94 open roles · median 64 d
- Onto Innovation · 20 open roles · median 84 d
- Applied Materials · 5 open roles · median 102 d
- ASML · 3 open roles · median 95 d
- Micron Technology · 3 open roles · median 64 d
- Veeco Instruments · 2 open roles · median 79 d
How we counted: 128 open Applications FAE (Metrology Inspection) roles from 7 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 17 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there. Figures refresh nightly.