New College Grad - Process Engineer III - PhD (2027 Summer Cohort) - Santa Clara, CA, United States
$124,000 - $171,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 15 September 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role involves designing and optimizing manufacturing processes for display and semiconductor manufacturing technologies. You will perform hardware characterization and troubleshoot engineering issues within these processes.
What you'll do
- Collect data, analyze, and compile reports on basic process engineering experiments.
- Perform hardware characterization on basic systems.
- Troubleshoot problems, perform Root Cause Analysis, and resolve basic process engineering issues.
- Measure film properties and organize data/reports for review.
- Generate internal documentation for products, presentations, and technical reports.
- Communicate and engage with customers to resolve basic process engineering issues or concerns, under direct supervision.
What you'll need
- Doctorate degree in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Physics or a related field.
- Experience in one or more semiconductor processes (CVD, ALD, PVD, etch, epi).
- Experience in material characterization (e.g., FTIR, XPS, XRD).
Nice to have
- Available to start full time and participate in the Semiconductor Product Group's New College Graduate training cohort in July 2027.
- Experience in semiconductor fab or equipment industry.
Skills: process engineering, semiconductor manufacturing, hardware characterization, CVD, ALD, PVD
This role has been open 30 days — well below the 76-day median for Process Engineering roles.
Process Engineering · Semiconductor Process
|
Open roles in category
1038
|
Median days open
76 d
|
Median salary
$137k
|
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 (1038 roles · 56 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 71 | 1038 |
| Open roles in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family | 1113 | 9896 · 109 employers |
| Median days open | 75 d | 76 d (−1 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $137k |
Skills observed across this category: process engineering, semiconductor manufacturing, hardware characterization, CVD, ALD, PVD
Who's hiring in this category
- Micron Technology · 355 open roles · median 139 d
- GlobalFoundries · 75 open roles · median 114 d
- Applied Materials (this employer) · 72 open roles · median 75 d
- Texas Instruments · 53 open roles · median 50 d
- STMicroelectronics · 48 open roles · median 49 d
- Entegris · 46 open roles · median 34 d
How we counted: 1038 open Process Engineering (Semiconductor Process) roles from 56 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.