Principal Engineer (PVD Equipment & Process Development) - Milpitas, CA, United States
$205,800 - $360,200 USD yearly
Originally posted 21 October 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role sets technical direction across PVD, metallization, annealing, thin films, and device integration, translating future device needs into equipment and technology roadmaps.
What you'll do
- Lead technical projects for the development of new PVD equipment, chambers, hardware, and process capabilities for future semiconductor devices. - Define project requirements, technical milestones, development priorities, schedules, and risks. - Partner with process and hardware engineering teams to develop and optimize PVD chamber and equipment capabilities. - Apply device-integration knowledge to assess interactions between pre-metallization processes, PVD deposition, metallization, annealing, and downstream processing. - Drive the evaluation and introduction of new materials and metallization approaches required for future device technologies. - Work directly with equipment manufacturers and component suppliers on new chamber technologies, hardware designs, components, and process capabilities.
What you'll need
- M.S. or Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, or a related semiconductor discipline. - 15+ years of semiconductor experience in PVD, thin-film deposition, metallization, process equipment, or related technology development. - Deep technical knowledge of PVD deposition processes and equipment. - Experience contributing to the development, modification, or introduction of PVD equipment, process chambers, or chamber hardware. - Strong understanding of semiconductor device integration and fabrication, including processes before and after metallization. - Experience evaluating or introducing new deposition materials and material stacks for advanced device applications. - Willingness and ability to travel approximately 20% domestically and internationally.
Nice to have
- Experience developing or modifying PVD chambers, sources, or other deposition-system hardware. - Experience taking new equipment and process capabilities from concept and development through qualification and manufacturing implementation. - Knowledge of CVD and other thin-film deposition technologies. - Experience working with global equipment and component suppliers.
Skills: PVD, thin-film deposition, metallization, process development, chamber hardware
This role has been open 0 days — well below the 50-day median for Process Engineering roles.
Process Engineering · Deposition Process
|
Open roles in category
67
|
Median days open
50 d
|
Median salary
$142k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | KLA Corporation | All employers we track in this specialty (67 roles · 21 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 2 | 67 |
| Open roles in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family | 463 | 10066 · 107 employers |
| Median days open | 57 d | 50 d (+7 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $142k |
Skills observed across this category: PVD, thin-film deposition, metallization, process development, chamber hardware
Who's hiring in this category
- Micron Technology · 18 open roles · median 32 d
- Lam Research · 12 open roles · median 23 d
- ASM International · 10 open roles · median 63 d
- STMicroelectronics · 5 open roles · median 23 d
- Applied Materials · 3 open roles · median 23 d
- Vishay Intertechnology · 2 open roles · median 98 d
How we counted: 67 open Process Engineering (Deposition Process) roles from 21 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 21 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.