Senior Computational Scientist / Software Engineer - Feature Scale Process Simulation
Originally posted 22 September 2026 by the employer.
Develop advanced feature-scale simulation software for plasma etch and deposition processes.
About the role
This role involves developing physics-based semiconductor process simulation technologies. This role focuses on the development of advanced feature-scale simulation software that predicts the evolution of nanoscale semiconductor structures during plasma etch, deposition, and other manufacturing processes.
What you'll do
- Design, implement, and maintain computational software for feature-scale semiconductor process simulation.
- Develop and enhance physics-based models describing plasma-surface interactions, surface chemistry, material transport, and profile evolution.
- Translate physical theories, experimental observations, and mathematical models into robust, production-quality software.
- Collaborate with plasma physicists, process engineers, computational scientists, and product teams to improve model fidelity and predictive capability.
- Develop numerical algorithms for geometry evolution, particle transport, surface reaction kinetics, and related multiphysics phenomena.
- Optimize simulation performance for modern computing architectures, including multicore CPUs and GPU-based systems.
What you'll need
- Ph.D. or M.S. in Physics, Computational Science, Applied Mathematics, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Computer Science, or related technical discipline.
- Familiarity developing feature-scale, topography, or process simulation tools for plasma etch and deposition.
- Strong software development experience in C++ and Python.
- Experience developing numerical simulation or scientific computing software.
- Understanding of computational methods such as Monte Carlo techniques, Numerical optimization, Finite difference or finite element methods, Particle transport simulations, Geometry evolution algorithms, and Multiphysics modeling.
- Ability to work effectively across both physics and software domains.
Nice to have
- Knowledge of plasma physics and plasma-surface interactions.
- Experience with reaction kinetics, surface chemistry, or gas-phase chemistry modeling.
- Experience with high-performance computing, parallel algorithms, GPU programming, or distributed computing.
- Familiarity with computational geometry, level-set methods, ray tracing, ballistic transport models, or kinetic Monte Carlo methods.
- Experience working with experimental data for model calibration and validation.
- Record of technical publications, patents, or open-source contributions.
Skills: feature-scale simulation, computational software, plasma etch, deposition, physics-based models
This role has been open 24 days — well below the 44-day median for Software Engineering Semiconductor roles.
Software Engineering Semiconductor · AI EDA Design
|
Open roles in category
112
|
Median days open
44 d
|
Median salary
$200k
|
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 (112 roles · 32 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 8 | 112 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 78 | 6119 · 145 employers |
| Median days open | 21 d | 44 d (−23 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $200k |
Skills observed across this category: feature-scale simulation, computational software, plasma etch, deposition, physics-based models
Who's hiring in this category
- Applied Materials · 14 open roles · median 56 d
- KLA Corporation · 13 open roles · median 29 d
- Micron Technology · 13 open roles · median 37 d
- Lam Research (this employer) · 8 open roles · median 21 d
- Cadence Design Systems · 7 open roles · median 19 d
- NVIDIA · 7 open roles · median 163 d
How we counted: 112 open Software Engineering Semiconductor (AI EDA Design) roles from 32 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 17 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 Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Figures refresh nightly.