Senior Control Systems Engineer – Precision Motion & Custom Actuators

Company Overview

KLA is a global leader in diversified electronics for the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. Virtually every electronic device in the world is produced using our technologies. No laptop, smartphone, wearable device, voice-controlled gadget, flexible screen, VR device or smart car would have made it into your hands without us. KLA invents systems and solutions for the manufacturing of wafers and reticles, integrated circuits, packaging, printed circuit boards and flat panel displays. The innovative ideas and devices that are advancing humanity all begin with inspiration, research and development. KLA focuses more than average on innovation and we invest 15% of sales back into R&D. Our expert teams of physicists, engineers, data scientists and problem-solvers work together with the world’s leading technology providers to accelerate the delivery of tomorrow’s electronic devices. Life here is exciting and our teams thrive on tackling really hard problems. There is never a dull moment with us.

Group/Division

With over 40 years of semiconductor process control experience, chipmakers around the globe rely on KLA to ensure that their fabs ramp next-generation devices to volume production quickly and cost-effectively. Enabling the movement towards advanced chip design, KLA's Global Products Group (GPG), which is responsible for creating all of KLA’s metrology and inspection products, is looking for the best and the brightest research scientist, software engineers, application development engineers, and senior product technology process engineers. Central Engineering is KLA's largest engineering organization comprised of 9 Centers-of-Excellence (CoE) in various disciplines applied across all product groups in the company. These CoE include Handling & Automation, Precision Motion Control, Sensors & Image Acquisition, Platform Design, and Packaging Engineering, among others. Talent includes over 500 engineers across global centers in Israel, China, India, and the US. Each CoE contributes not just talent and deliverables per discipline toward product programs, but also subject matter expertise, best practices, roadmaps, specialized facilities, apparatus, models, and analytics. These differentiate KLA not only in WHAT we do, but also in HOW we do it.

Job Description/Preferred Qualifications

The Opportunity

This role is built for an experienced control systems engineer who wants deep technical ownership and system‑level influence on ultra‑high‑performance motion platforms. At KLA, you will define and drive control architectures for next‑generation semiconductor inspection and metrology systems—working on real hardware, custom actuators, and performance limits where theory meets physics. You will own control strategy decisions from early concept through integration, validation, and production! You’ll work alongside senior engineers across actuator design, mechanics, software, and optics, influencing how the system is architected—not just how it is controlled.

Job Duties:

• Control architecture ownership for ultra‑precision motion and positioning subsystems.
• Design and implementation of sophisticated feedback and feed-forward control strategies for custom actuators, including magnetic, piezoelectric, and air‑bearing systems.
• Model‑based analysis of system dynamics, including plant characterization, system identification, and performance trade‑off studies.
• Tuning and optimization of multi‑axis motion systems to achieve ambitious requirements in accuracy, stability, efficiency, and adaptability.
• Technical leadership in multi-functional integration, partnering closely with mechanical, actuator, electronics, software, optics, and system teams.
• Contribution to requirements definition, error budgets, and design reviews, with control performance as a first‑order system driver.
• Hands‑on experimental work, including hardware‑in‑the‑loop testing, real‑time implementation, and root‑cause analysis of sophisticated system behavior.
• Documentation and communication of control strategies, assumptions, and results across global engineering teams.
• Informal mentorship and technical guidance for less‑experienced controls engineers.

Qualifications, but not limited to:

• Educational background in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering Electrical Engineering, or a closely related field.
• Significant experience developing and deploying control systems for high‑performance electromechanical or motion platforms.
• Deep understanding of control theory, system dynamics, and modeling as applied to real, imperfect hardware.
• Hands‑on experience with custom