Process Engineer – Plasma Etch - Santa Clara, CA, United States
$124,000 - $171,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 12 October 2026 by the employer.
Optimize advanced plasma etch processes for semiconductor applications.
About the role
As a Process Engineer, you will design and optimize manufacturing processes for display and semiconductor manufacturing technologies. This role involves developing and optimizing advanced plasma etch processes for semiconductor applications.
What you'll do
- Develop and optimize plasma etch processes for advanced semiconductor applications.
- Design and execute experiments, analyze data, and drive process improvements.
- Investigate and resolve process and chamber-related issues through structured root cause analysis.
- Support customer escalations and provide technical solutions to manufacturing and process challenges.
- Characterize process-chamber interactions and evaluate hardware performance.
- Prepare technical reports and engineering documentation.
What you'll need
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, or a related technical field.
- 4-7 years of relevant industry experience with a Bachelor's degree, or 2-5 years with a Master's degree.
- Strong analytical skills.
- Strong problem-solving skills.
- Strong communication skills.
Nice to have
- Semiconductor fab experience in plasma etch process development and optimization.
- Hands-on experience with Applied Materials etch systems.
- Experience with chamber troubleshooting, process qualification, and customer-facing technical support.
- Knowledge of DOE.
- Knowledge of statistical analysis tools (JMP or equivalent).
- Knowledge of TEM, SEM, and EDS characterization techniques.
Skills: plasma etch, process development, hardware characterization, root cause analysis, DOE
This role has been open 2 days — well below the 71-day median for Process Engineering roles.
Process Engineering · Etch Process
|
Open roles in category
72
|
Median days open
71 d
|
Median salary
—
|
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 (72 roles · 19 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 2 | 72 |
| Open roles in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family | 1113 | 9896 · 109 employers |
| Median days open | 24 d | 71 d (−47 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | — |
Skills observed across this category: plasma etch, process development, hardware characterization, root cause analysis, DOE
Who's hiring in this category
- Micron Technology · 34 open roles · median 78 d
- STMicroelectronics · 6 open roles · median 37 d
- Tower Semiconductor · 6 open roles · median 42 d
- Texas Instruments · 3 open roles · median 54 d
- Applied Materials (this employer) · 2 open roles · median 24 d
- Entegris · 2 open roles · median 51 d
How we counted: 72 open Process Engineering (Etch Process) roles from 19 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 15 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.