Process Engineer 3 - US-CA-Fremont (1003), United States
$86,000 - $192,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 6 August 2026 by the employer.
About the role
As a Process Engineer 3 at Lam Research, you will conduct process engineering research, development, and evaluation supporting semiconductor equipment and systems. In this role, you will directly contribute to the Dielectric Etch Team.
What you'll do
- Review and enhance processing techniques and methods applied in the manufacture and fabrication of products. - Develop and sustain new processes and process improvements to reduce production costs and increase yields. - Compile and analyze test data to establish next steps in process development and determine appropriate limits and variables for process specifications. - Collaborate internally to plan, collect data, analyze results, and report on customer demos for existing process applications. - Define equipment hardware to meet processing requirements and coordinate design requirements to ensure compatibility of processing methods. - Provide leadership, clear direction, and guidance to process technicians to support execution activities.
What you'll need
- Master’s degree in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, or a related field with 3+ years of experience; or a PhD with no previous professional experience; or equivalent experience. - Experience developing process formulations and evaluating test data on semiconductor equipment. - Experience with equipment hardware definition to meet processing requirements.
Nice to have
- Familiarity with working in a laboratory and on semiconductor equipment with experience in surface preparation and analytical techniques. - In-depth understanding of Statistical Process Control (SPC) and/or Design of Experiments (DOE). - Proficiency in MATLAB, Python, or other similar scientific computing language. - Experience with statistical tools such as JMP or Minitab. - Background in Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD), or Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD). - Background in Plasma Physics, Reactive Ion Etching (RIE), Atomic Layer Etching (ALE), Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP), or Capacitively Coupled Plasma (CCP). - Knowledge of material synthesis and material characterization.
Skills: Dielectric Etch, process engineering, semiconductor equipment, SPC, DOE, Plasma Physics
This role has been open 75 days — well above the 61-day median for Semiconductor Equipment Engineering roles.
Semiconductor Equipment Engineering · Etch Process
|
Open roles in category
48
|
Median days open
61 d
|
Median salary
$168k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Lam Research | All employers we track in this specialty (48 roles · 11 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 13 | 48 |
| Open roles in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family | 820 | 10066 · 107 employers |
| Median days open | 63 d | 61 d (+2 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $168k |
Skills observed across this category: Dielectric Etch, process engineering, semiconductor equipment, SPC, DOE, Plasma Physics
Who's hiring in this category
- Lam Research (this employer) · 12 open roles · median 68 d
- Applied Materials · 11 open roles · median 57 d
- STMicroelectronics · 6 open roles · median 53 d
- KLA Corporation · 5 open roles · median 40 d
- GlobalFoundries · 4 open roles · median 128 d
- Micron Technology · 4 open roles · median 136 d
How we counted: 48 open Semiconductor Equipment Engineering (Etch Process) roles from 11 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.