Physicist/Scientist, Doctorate Degree, New College Grad (Spring 2027)
$138,000 - $190,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 30 October 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role develops and applies advanced modeling capabilities for plasma processing applications, including plasma etching, plasma-enhanced deposition, and atomic layer etching (ALE). The position focuses on understanding, modeling, and predicting plasma–surface interaction processes using physics-based methods and data-driven approaches.
What you'll do
- Develop and apply advanced models for plasma etching, deposition, and plasma-based surface modification processes.
- Combine physics-based and ML-driven approaches to improve process understanding and predictive capability.
- Collaborate closely with experimental teams to guide process development and interpret new experimental results.
- Contribute to the development, validation, and maintenance of internal software tools, modeling frameworks, and best practices.
- Communicate modeling results to multidisciplinary teams, including scientists, engineers, and major customers.
What you'll need
- PhD in Engineering (e.g., Chemical, Materials, Mechanical), Science (e.g., Physics, Chemistry), or a related field.
- Demonstrated experience modeling plasma–surface or gas–surface interaction processes using ab initio quantum chemistry, molecular dynamics, and/or kinetic Monte Carlo methods.
- Background in machine learning, particularly in the context of scientific computing or HPC environments.
- Experience working with large, complex simulation datasets and integrating modeling results with experimental data.
Skills: plasma etching, atomic layer etching, molecular dynamics, kinetic Monte Carlo, ab initio
More semiconductor jobs: Applied Materials jobs · Process engineer jobs · Santa Clara jobs
This role has been open 0 days — well below the 60-day median for Process Engineering roles.
Process Engineering · Etch Process
|
Open roles in category
69
|
Median days open
60 d
|
Category median salary (all employers)
—
|
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 (69 roles · 19 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 4 | 69 |
| Open roles in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family | 1160 | 10160 · 105 employers |
| Median days open | 28 d | 60 d (−32 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | — |
Skills observed across this category: plasma etching, atomic layer etching, molecular dynamics, kinetic Monte Carlo, ab initio
Who's hiring in this category
- Micron Technology · 31 open roles · median 92 d
- STMicroelectronics · 7 open roles · median 39 d
- Texas Instruments · 4 open roles · median 59 d
- Tower Semiconductor · 4 open roles · median 59 d
- Applied Materials (this employer) · 3 open roles · median 38 d
- Entegris · 2 open roles · median 66 d
How we counted: 69 open Process Engineering (Etch Process) roles from 19 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 30 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.