Senior Software Architect - Milpitas, CA, United States
$159,500 - $233,967 USD yearly
Originally posted 21 September 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role involves leading the architecture, design, and development of complex software systems for semiconductor inspection and metrology products. You will define scalable software architectures for sophisticated hardware-software platforms.
What you'll do
- Lead the architecture, design, and implementation of complex software systems using modern C++.
- Define scalable, maintainable, and high-performance software architectures aligned with product and technology roadmaps.
- Drive software design decisions, conduct architecture reviews, and establish technical standards across development teams.
- Develop robust frameworks, libraries, and reusable components that improve product consistency and engineering productivity.
- Analyze complex technical requirements and translate them into elegant, scalable software designs.
- Optimize software performance, scalability, reliability, and maintainability across distributed and real-time systems.
What you'll need
- Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.
- 12+ years of professional software development experience with a strong emphasis on C++ development.
- Proven experience designing and delivering large-scale, complex software systems from architecture through deployment.
- Deep expertise in object-oriented design, software architecture, design patterns, and modern C++ development.
- Strong understanding of multi-threaded, distributed, and high-performance software systems.
- Experience developing software for complex engineering, scientific, semiconductor, industrial automation, or hardware-integrated applications.
Nice to have
- Experience developing software for semiconductor equipment, metrology, inspection systems, robotics, motion control, or other precision engineering applications.
- Knowledge of Linux-based development environments.
- Experience designing distributed systems, service-oriented architectures, or real-time software systems.
- Familiarity with image processing, machine vision, scientific computing, or data-intensive applications.
- Exposure to cloud technologies, software automation frameworks, and modern DevOps practices.
Skills: C++, software architecture, semiconductor inspection, metrology products, distributed systems
This role has been open 20 days — well below the 46-day median for Software Engineering Semiconductor roles.
Software Engineering Semiconductor · Systems Software
|
Open roles in category
360
|
Median days open
46 d
|
Median salary
$148k
|
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 (360 roles · 57 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 31 | 360 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 204 | 6028 · 146 employers |
| Median days open | 160 d | 46 d (+114 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $148k |
Skills observed across this category: C++, software architecture, semiconductor inspection, metrology products, distributed systems
Who's hiring in this category
- Keysight Technologies · 37 open roles · median 31 d
- KLA Corporation (this employer) · 31 open roles · median 159 d
- Cadence Design Systems · 28 open roles · median 200 d
- Applied Materials · 26 open roles · median 46 d
- Micron Technology · 26 open roles · median 41 d
- NVIDIA · 25 open roles · median 41 d
How we counted: 360 open Software Engineering Semiconductor (Systems Software) roles from 57 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 11 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.