New College Grad - Process Engineer - MS/PhD (Winter 2026) - Santa Clara, CA, United States
$124,000 - $171,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 1 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.
What you'll do
- Collect and analyze data, compiling reports on process engineering experiments
- Perform hardware characterization on basic systems
- Troubleshoot problems, perform Root Cause Analysis, and resolve process engineering issues
- Measure film properties and organize data/reports for review
- Generate internal documentation for products, presentations, and technical reports
- Communicate with customers to resolve process engineering issues or concerns, under direct supervision
What you'll need
- MS or Doctorate degree in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or a related field
- Ability to start the position full time from October 2026 - January 2027
Nice to have
- Experience in semiconductor fab or equipment industry
- Doctorate degree is preferred
- Experience in one or more semiconductor processes (CVD, ALD, PVD, etch, epi)
- Experience in material characterization (e.g. FTIR, XPS, XRD)
Skills: manufacturing processes, hardware characterization, troubleshoot engineering issues, film properties, semiconductor processes
This role has been open 43 days — well below the 77-day median for Process Engineering roles.
Process Engineering · Semiconductor Process
|
Open roles in category
1041
|
Median days open
77 d
|
Median salary
$139k
|
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 (1041 roles · 57 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 72 | 1041 |
| Open roles in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family | 1109 | 9855 · 109 employers |
| Median days open | 75 d | 77 d (−2 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $139k |
Skills observed across this category: manufacturing processes, hardware characterization, troubleshoot engineering issues, film properties, semiconductor processes
Who's hiring in this category
- Micron Technology · 358 open roles · median 140 d
- Applied Materials (this employer) · 79 open roles · median 78 d
- GlobalFoundries · 72 open roles · median 113 d
- Texas Instruments · 51 open roles · median 49 d
- STMicroelectronics · 47 open roles · median 49 d
- Entegris · 43 open roles · median 33 d
How we counted: 1041 open Process Engineering (Semiconductor Process) roles from 57 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 14 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.