Optical System Engineer - Santa Clara, CA, United States

Originally posted 3 August 2026 by the employer. Relisted by the employer on 16 October 2026.

About the role

Applied Materials is seeking an Optical System Engineer to support the development of a family of semiconductor process tool sensors. Main activities include sensor transducer design and test, analogue and digital circuit design and test, firmware validation, and prototype bring-up.

What you'll do

- Perform engineering design, test, and analysis of sensors with limited supervision. - Work with sensor architects, physicists, and system software and hardware engineers to deliver complete sensor systems. - Design, build, and validate optical benches and characterize lasers, amplifiers, and detectors across wavelengths from UV to MWIR. - Execute chamber integration, verification, and troubleshooting of system hardware and software. - Integrate PCBs and embedded firmware to support sensor development. - Participate in schematic, layout, and BOM reviews for new electrical designs and continuous improvement designs.

What you'll need

- MS or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a related field. - 4+ years of experience with optical or THz/GHz sensor development. - Knowledge of semiconductor processes, associated physics, and vacuum process tools. - Fundamental training in laser, optics, and EM wave devices and physics. - In-depth experience with optical design tools such as LightTools and Zemax.

Nice to have

- Experience in testing and debugging optical systems, optoelectronic assemblies, photo detectors, and sources such as PDs, IR, and LEDs. - Knowledge and experience with embedded firmware development. - Experience with FPGAs. - Knowledge of industrial communication standards such as ECAT or DNet.

Skills: electrical design, schematics, layouts, troubleshooting, test reports