Director, Physicist/Scientist - Lasers - Santa Clara, CA, United States
$210,000 - $289,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 27 August 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role involves directing the long-term technology roadmap for laser and optics systems within semiconductor capital equipment, focusing on advanced logic, DRAM, power devices, specialty semiconductors, and advanced packaging.
What you'll do
- Define long-term laser and optics technology roadmaps.
- Drive strategic make-versus-buy decisions for laser, optics, metrology, and subsystem technologies.
- Own laser and optics technical strategy for currently released products and drive continuous improvement programs.
- Serve as executive technical interface to laser manufacturers, optical suppliers, coating vendors, and metrology suppliers.
- Lead development and optimization of fiber laser systems, diode laser systems, beam delivery systems, beam shaping optics, and wafer temperature measurement systems.
What you'll need
- Experience defining system architectures for high-power laser subsystems, beam shaping, optical delivery systems, wafer temperature metrology, and laser safety.
- Experience with root-cause investigations for critical field issues and customer escalations.
- Experience with supplier technology roadmaps, evaluation, and joint development programs.
- Experience directing third-party engineering services companies in optical, laser, mechanical, controls, and systems development activities.
- Experience generating invention disclosures and patent filings related to laser processing, optics, metrology, and thermal processing.
- Ability to mentor physicists, optical engineers, systems engineers, and technologists.
Nice to have
- Experience with laser annealing, laser spike annealing, or millisecond annealing systems.
- Experience with high-power lasers (kW-class).
- Experience with advanced optical system design for high power lasers.
- Experience with semiconductor capital equipment.
- Experience with laser safety systems.
- Experience with wafer temperature metrology and pyrometry.
- Experience with strategic supplier management.
- Experience with management of outsourced engineering development teams.
Skills: laser and optics technology, laser annealing platforms, beam shaping, optical delivery systems, wafer temperature metrology
This role has been open 49 days — slightly above the 48-day median for Semiconductor Equipment Engineering roles.
Semiconductor Equipment Engineering · Optical Laser Systems
|
Open roles in category
41
|
Median days open
48 d
|
Median salary
$164k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Applied Materials | All employers we track in this specialty (41 roles · 10 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 7 | 41 |
| Open roles in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family | 1111 | 9867 · 109 employers |
| Median days open | 27 d | 48 d (−21 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $164k |
Skills observed across this category: laser and optics technology, laser annealing platforms, beam shaping, optical delivery systems, wafer temperature metrology
Who's hiring in this category
- KLA Corporation · 14 open roles · median 112 d
- ASML · 8 open roles · median 12 d
- Applied Materials (this employer) · 7 open roles · median 26 d
- MKS Instruments · 6 open roles · median 107 d
- Aeva Technologies · 1 open role · median 71 d
- Camtek · 1 open role · median 114 d
How we counted: 41 open Semiconductor Equipment Engineering (Optical Laser Systems) roles from 10 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 15 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 — it is counted in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family row. Figures refresh nightly.