Physicist / Scientist V - San Jose, CA, United States
$176,000 - $242,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 31 August 2026 by the employer.
About the role
As a Physicist / Scientist V, you will technically lead and execute engineering projects and spearhead research and development of new technologies. This role involves defining experiments and determining meaningful data to support evaluation and technical decisions.
What you'll do
- Technically lead and/or execute engineering projects and spearhead research and development of new technologies.
- Lead and/or develop and execute significantly complex system projects.
- Problem identification and troubleshooting a wide range of significantly complex problems.
- Function as a specialist for physics/scientists issues, influencing and utilizing expertise in interfacing with external and internal customers.
- Initiate innovative physics/science projects which extend boundaries of system performance or technology.
- Provide mentoring for less experienced physicist/scientists.
- Research new technologies and analyze competition technology, and evaluate new technologies.
What you'll need
- Expertise in own discipline and broad knowledge of other disciplines.
- Ability to anticipate business and regulatory issues; recommend product, process or service improvements.
- Experience leading projects with notable risk and complexity.
- Ability to solve unique and complex problems with broad impact on the business.
- Experience impacting the direction and resource allocation for programs, projects or services.
Skills: physics, research and development, system projects, new technologies, feasibility studies
This role has been open 44 days — well below the 55-day median for Semiconductor Equipment Engineering roles.
Semiconductor Equipment Engineering · Manufacturing Equipment
|
Open roles in category
3759
|
Median days open
55 d
|
Median salary
$126k
|
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 (3759 roles · 83 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 616 | 3759 |
| Open roles in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family | 1109 | 9855 · 109 employers |
| Median days open | 54 d | 55 d (−1 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $126k |
Skills observed across this category: physics, research and development, system projects, new technologies, feasibility studies
Who's hiring in this category
- Applied Materials (this employer) · 611 open roles · median 55 d
- Lam Research · 543 open roles · median 42 d
- Micron Technology · 287 open roles · median 42 d
- KLA Corporation · 249 open roles · median 70 d
- ASML · 196 open roles · median 68 d
- ASM International · 162 open roles · median 82 d
How we counted: 3759 open Semiconductor Equipment Engineering (Manufacturing Equipment) roles from 83 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.