Senior. Manager of Semiconductor Applications Development Engineering - Milpitas, CA, United States
$179,600 - $314,300 USD yearly
Originally posted 2 September 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role involves driving the strategic direction of applications development, ensuring customer success, and fostering a culture of technical excellence for KLA’s innovative semiconductor metrology and inspection equipment.
What you'll do
- Lead and manage a team of applications development engineers.
- Define and execute applications development roadmaps aligned with product strategy and customer requirements.
- Oversee the development, testing, and validation of new applications, algorithms, and methodologies for semiconductor metrology and inspection tools.
- Drive customer engagements, including technical presentations, demonstrations, and support for critical customer issues.
- Develop and maintain strong technical expertise in semiconductor manufacturing processes, defect mechanisms, and metrology challenges.
- Manage project schedules, resources, and budgets effectively.
What you'll need
- Master’s degree or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, Chemical Engineering, or a related technical field.
- 10+ years of experience in the semiconductor industry with a strong focus on applications development, process integration, or metrology/inspection.
- 5+ years of experience in a leadership or management role, leading technical teams.
- Deep understanding of semiconductor manufacturing processes (e.g., lithography, etch, deposition, CMP) and their associated defectivity and metrology challenges.
- Proven experience with semiconductor metrology or inspection equipment (e.g., optical inspection, e-beam inspection, CD-SEM, film thickness, overlay).
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Nice to have
- Proficiency in data analysis tools (e.g., JMP, Python, MATLAB).
- Computational modeling knowledge and IC processing/Semiconductor equipment understanding.
Skills: semiconductor process technology, metrology, optical metrology, thin-film measurements, scatterometry
This role has been open 42 days — well below the 70-day median for Applications FAE roles.
Applications FAE · Metrology Inspection
|
Open roles in category
128
|
Median days open
70 d
|
Median salary
$128k
|
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 (128 roles · 7 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 95 | 128 |
| Median days open | 63 d | 70 d (−7 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $128k |
Skills observed across this category: semiconductor process technology, metrology, optical metrology, thin-film measurements, scatterometry
Who's hiring in this category
- KLA Corporation (this employer) · 96 open roles · median 63 d
- Onto Innovation · 18 open roles · median 84 d
- Applied Materials · 5 open roles · median 100 d
- ASML · 3 open roles · median 93 d
- Micron Technology · 3 open roles · median 62 d
- Veeco Instruments · 2 open roles · median 77 d
How we counted: 128 open Applications FAE (Metrology Inspection) roles from 7 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. Figures refresh nightly.