Product Engineer 4 - Etch ESC product development - US-CA-Fremont (1003), United States
$104,000 - $231,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 22 July 2026 by the employer.
Develop and qualify electrostatic chuck (ESC) hardware and subsystems for Lam plasma etchers.
About the role
This role manages new product introduction and production support engineering for electrostatic chuck (ESC) hardware used in Lam plasma etchers, from inception through in-house qualification to customer support. You will focus on ESC subsystems governing thermal uniformity, defectivity limits, and voltage process windows.
What you'll do
- Develop new or modified hardware designs for electrostatic chucks (ESCs) and supporting hardware used in Lam plasma etchers. - Review process and customer requirements to define engineering specifications for ESCs and ESC subsystems. - Define testing requirements for production-readiness qualification, establish the process of record (POR) at parts suppliers, and assess materials used in production. - Coordinate design reviews, risk assessments, and POR reviews to ensure successful product release and adherence to product design business processes. - Compile and evaluate test data to determine hardware limitations and assess the risk of field failure based on customer process conditions. - Lead a small team of engineers and lab personnel to coordinate multiple subsystems and deliver required wafer requirements.
What you'll need
- Bachelor's degree with 8 years of experience, Master's degree with 3–6 years of experience, or Ph.D. with a minimum of 3 years of experience in materials science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, physics, or a related field (or equivalent experience). - Semiconductor or product design experience. - Experience designing, specifying, building, operating, and maintaining capital equipment test apparatus. - Proficiency in Python, MATLAB, or another similar scientific computing language. - Fundamental understanding of heat transfer, mass transfer, vacuum pressure and flow, thermodynamics, and basic mechanics of materials.
Nice to have
- Prior product design and technical engineer experience. - Experience designing, specifying, building, operating, and maintaining semiconductor, automotive, aerospace, or related hardware, tools, and equipment. - Experience coordinating and communicating with cross-functional teams.
Skills: Etch ESC product development, Electrostatic chucks, plasma etchers, hardware designs, testing requirements, material science, thermal uniformity
This role has been open 89 days — well above the 60-day median for Semiconductor Equipment Engineering roles.
Semiconductor Equipment Engineering · Etch Process
|
Open roles in category
53
|
Median days open
60 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 (53 roles · 11 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 13 | 53 |
| Open roles in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family | 820 | 9979 · 109 employers |
| Median days open | 73 d | 60 d (+13 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $168k |
Skills observed across this category: Etch ESC product development, Electrostatic chucks, plasma etchers, hardware designs, testing requirements, material science
Who's hiring in this category
- Lam Research (this employer) · 14 open roles · median 66 d
- Applied Materials · 13 open roles · median 55 d
- STMicroelectronics · 7 open roles · median 53 d
- KLA Corporation · 5 open roles · median 38 d
- GlobalFoundries · 4 open roles · median 126 d
- Micron Technology · 4 open roles · median 134 d
How we counted: 53 open Semiconductor Equipment Engineering (Etch Process) roles from 11 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 19 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.