Optical System Engineer
Company websiteappliedmaterials.com (Applied Materials, opens in new tab)
Base salary $124K to $171K
Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in Santa Clara, CA
You apply on the employer's own site. Six Figure Work does not handle applications.
- LocationSanta Clara, CA
- WorkplaceWorkplace not stated
- Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
- Last checked (14 min ago) · observed since
About this job
Who We Are
Applied Materials is the global leader in materials science and engineering solutions that are at the foundation of virtually every new semiconductor chip and advanced display in the world. The equipment that we create and service is essential to advancing AI and accelerating the commercialization of next-generation semiconductor chips. Join us and push the boundaries of materials science and engineering in a company at the foundation of the electronics industry. The work we do together advances the world’s technology.
What We Offer
Salary:
$124,000.00 - $171,000.00Location:
Santa Clara,CAYou’ll benefit from a supportive work culture that encourages you to learn, develop, and grow your career as you take on challenges and drive innovative solutions for our customers. We empower our team to push the boundaries of what is possible—while learning every day in a supportive leading global company. Visit our Careers website to learn more.
At Applied Materials, we care about the health and wellbeing of our employees. We’re committed to providing programs and support that encourage personal and professional growth and care for you at work, at home, or wherever you may go. Learn more about our benefits.
Applied Materials CoE Team is looking for a Engineer to support the development of a new family of semiconductor process tool sensors at Applied Materials. Main activities include sensor transducer design and test, analogue and digital circuits design & test, firmware development or validation, prototype sensor bring-up and de-bugging, and management of PCB suppliers.
You will be working along-side other engineers on exciting new sensor developments that will significantly impact semiconductor industry and will provide solid personal career growth opportunities.
Key Responsibilities
- Perform engineering design, test, and analysis of sensors with limited supervision
- Work closely with sensor architects, physicists, and system SW / HW engineers to deliver a complete sensor system
- Design, build, and validate optical bench and characterize laser, amplifiers, detectors over wavelength range from UV to MWIR
- Chamber integration, verification and troubleshooting of system HW and SW
- Integrate PCBs, embedded firmware to support various sensors development.
- Participate in schematic/layout/BOM review for new electrical design and continuous improvement designs
- Create and implement system requirement and test procedure for the sensor or sensing system
- Provide timely status updates and proactively communications on issues to the stakeholders.
Qualifications
The candidate selected for this position will possess and demonstrate the following skills, education and experience, as detailed below:
- MS or Ph.D. in Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or related fields
- Experience in testing and debugging of optical systems/optoelectronic assemblies and photo detectors and sources such as PDs, IR, LEDs is a big plus.
- Must have 4+ years of experience with optical or THz/GHz sensor development.
- Strong knowledge in semiconductor processes, associated physics, and vacuum process tools.
- Fundamental training in laser, optics and EM wave devices and physics.
- In-depth experience of optical design tools such as LightTools, Zemax.
- Knowledge and experience of embedded firmware development a big plus.
- Previous experience with FPGA’s is a plus, but not required.
- Knowledge of Industrial communication standards like ECAT or DNet a plus, but not required.
- Flexible, motivated, self-driven, with the ability to work with remote teams.
- Excellent analytical skills, methodical problem-solving skills and logical reporting.
- Ability to meet objectives, goals and deadlines with minimal supervision.
Additional Information
Time Type:
Full timeEmployee Type:
Assignee / RegularTravel:
Yes, 10% of the TimeRelocation Eligible:
YesThe salary offered to a selected candidate will be based on multiple factors including location, hire grade, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and with consideration of internal equity of our current team members. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, candidates may be eligible for other forms of compensation such as participation in a bonus and a stock award program, as applicable.
For all sales roles, the posted salary range is the Target Total Cash (TTC) range for the role, which is the sum of base salary and target bonus amount at 100% goal achievement.
Applied Materials is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law.
In addition, Applied endeavors to make our careers site accessible to all users. If you would like to contact us regarding accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact us via e-mail at [email protected], or by calling our HR Direct Help Line at 877-612-7547, option 1, and following the prompts to speak to an HR Advisor. This contact is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.
Source: Applied Materials on Workday · View original posting (opens in new tab)
Pay in context
This role's base floor ($124,000) is above 22% of the 2,067 Engineering (non-software) roles in California listed on this site; 43 others list the same floor. Their median floor is $146,800; the middle half runs from $125,000 to $175,000.
Only jobs on this site count, and each one publishes a base salary of $100,000 or more, so this compares six-figure jobs with each other, not with the whole market. Computed Nov 6, 2026.
This listingOptical System Engineer$124K to $171K
Process Engineer III$124K to $171K
Process Engineer- E3 Senior$124K to $171K
Process Engineer ||| - Plasma$124K to $171K
Mechanical Design Engineer$124K to $171K
Global Product Support (GPS) Engineer$124K to $171K
Application Engineer III$124K to $171K
Chart as a table
| Role | Published base |
|---|---|
| Optical System Engineer (this listing) | $124K - $171K |
| Process Engineer III | $124K - $171K |
| Process Engineer- E3 Senior | $124K - $171K |
| Process Engineer ||| - Plasma | $124K - $171K |
| Mechanical Design Engineer | $124K - $171K |
| Global Product Support (GPS) Engineer | $124K - $171K |
| Application Engineer III | $124K - $171K |
Observed changes
- First observed on the employer's board
- Began meeting the published-salary criteria
- Observed since
- Employer-stated posting date
- 2026-10-23
Where this pay comes from
Location as the employer wrote it: Santa Clara,CA
$124,000.00 - $171,000.00
- Method
- Employer text, read with fixed rules and re-verified
- Checked
- Rule set
- us-base-v2
The pay passage appears in the employer's own job text. Fixed, deterministic rules located it, and the passage below was checked against the stored copy of the posting.
What we verified
- The pay figures come from the employer's own listing, quoted exactly above.
- The pay is an annual base salary in US dollars with a minimum of at least $100,000.
- The role was publicly listed on the employer's job board when last checked.
We do not verify what the employer will actually offer, whether the employer is still recruiting for the role, or anything beyond what the employer published. Full methodology.
