Physicist/Scientist V - Santa Clara, CA, United States
$176,000 - $242,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 11 May 2026 by the employer. Relisted by the employer on 26 August 2026.
About the role
Support OPC, resist modeling, and SMO for optical devices within the advanced lithography group.
What you'll do
- Lead and execute engineering projects, research and development of new technologies, and complex system feasibility studies. - Take ownership of OPC KW, resist modeling, sampling plans, data cleaning, and SMO/RET downselection. - Maintain the OPC infrastructure and present OPC and modeling verification readouts to the team before final tape out. - Define experimental frameworks, collect meaningful evaluation data, and approve qualification results of complex modules. - Mentor less experienced physicists and scientists while functioning as a technical specialist across functional areas.
What you'll need
- MS or Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent. - 10 to 15 years of total professional experience. - 5 or more years of hands-on experience in OPC, resist modeling, and SMO in semiconductor environments. - Demonstrated background in computational lithography. - In-depth knowledge of lithography materials and processes.
Nice to have
- Direct experience in lithography process.
Skills: PVD, plasma physics, sputtering, vacuum, E-field
This role has been open 194 days — well above the 79-day median for Semiconductor Equipment Engineering roles.
Semiconductor Equipment Engineering · Deposition Process
|
Open roles in category
103
|
Median days open
79 d
|
Median salary
$133k
|
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 (103 roles · 19 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 18 | 103 |
| Open roles in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family | 1124 | 10037 · 107 employers |
| Median days open | 79 d | 79 d (same as this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $133k |
Skills observed across this category: PVD, plasma physics, sputtering, vacuum, E-field
Who's hiring in this category
- ASM International · 26 open roles · median 81 d
- Applied Materials (this employer) · 19 open roles · median 76 d
- Lam Research · 15 open roles · median 60 d
- onsemi · 7 open roles · median 22 d
- Micron Technology · 5 open roles · median 142 d
- Veeco Instruments · 5 open roles · median 88 d
How we counted: 103 open Semiconductor Equipment Engineering (Deposition Process) roles from 19 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 25 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.