Senior Software Engineer - San Diego, CA, United States
$113,000 - $170,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 29 May 2026 by the employer.
About the role
Design and develop proprietary Windows desktop application and framework software for control machines, automation systems, and complex electro-mechanical platforms, including test handlers used in high-volume semiconductor manufacturing.
What you'll do
- Design, develop, test, and integrate machine control software using C++ and C# in a Visual Studio environment. - Integrate motion controllers, I/O systems, machine vision, robotics, sensors, barcode readers, and other industrial devices through vendor-provided Windows APIs and SDKs. - Drive system architecture, interface definitions, and software design reviews to establish patterns that scale across product variants. - Troubleshoot field issues and customer escalations using logs, instrumentation, and on-equipment debugging to deliver root-cause analysis and corrective actions. - Partner with Manufacturing and Field Service to resolve production-line issues, restore system uptime, and improve reliability. - Build verification strategies, including simulation, automated system tests, and regression suites, to push failure detection upstream.
What you'll need
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field. - 10+ years of professional software engineering experience, including substantial work on automation, machine control, or complex electro-mechanical systems. - Expert C/C++ skills with object-oriented design (OOD) and design patterns. - Strong experience developing Windows desktop applications using Visual Studio, multithreaded software, and event-driven software. - Experience integrating external hardware using Windows APIs, SDKs, or communication libraries. - Demonstrated domain experience in semiconductor equipment, test handlers, ATE integration, factory automation, robotics, medical devices, or electro-mechanical systems.
Nice to have
- State machine development, motion control APIs, and machine vision integration. - Hardware/software integration experience with common interfaces including RS-232/RS-485, USB, Ethernet, TCP/IP, CAN, I2C, or SPI. - UI development experience for operator/service tools using WPF, WinForms, or Qt. - CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins), automated test execution, and packaging/deployment tooling. - Experience with factory communication standards such as SECS/GEM and related SEMI standards (e.g., E5/E30/E37/HSMS). - Scripting and data analysis using Python and issue tracking with Jira. - Understanding of machine safety concepts including interlocks, e-stops, safe-state design, and functional safety standards like ISO 13849.
This role has been open 148 days — well above the 54-day median for Semiconductor Equipment Engineering roles.
Semiconductor Equipment Engineering · Manufacturing Equipment
|
Open roles in category
3894
|
Median days open
54 d
|
Median salary
$126k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Cohu | All employers we track in this specialty (3894 roles · 84 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 28 | 3894 |
| Open roles in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family | 58 | 10039 · 106 employers |
| Median days open | 73 d | 54 d (+19 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $126k |
Who's hiring in this category
- Applied Materials · 637 open roles · median 54 d
- Lam Research · 571 open roles · median 39 d
- KLA Corporation · 288 open roles · median 66 d
- Micron Technology · 278 open roles · median 47 d
- ASML · 186 open roles · median 74 d
- ASM International · 156 open roles · median 82 d
How we counted: 3894 open Semiconductor Equipment Engineering (Manufacturing Equipment) roles from 84 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 24 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.