Embedded Software Engineer (C/C++ | Motion Controller)

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. The Surfscan group includes a team of engineers, technology development, apps engineers and product marketing focused on technology that enables wafer, IC and equipment manufacturers to develop, qualify and monitor their process tools. Defects and process non-uniformities detected on Surfscan equipment allow for early identification of yield excursions. The flagship Surfscan products include the SPx platforms for wafer surface quality and wafer defect inspection tools and systems for inspection of polished wafers, epi wafers and engineered substrates during the wafer fabrication process.

Job Description/Preferred Qualifications

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain embedded software and firmware for semiconductor equipment control, motion control, automation, diagnostics, and system integration.
• Design, implement, test, and debug software for precision motion systems, machine automation, and real-time signal processing.
• Build diagnostic, configuration, calibration, and validation tools in C++ and Python for engineering, manufacturing, and field-support teams.
• Support hardware bring-up, system integration, performance tuning, and root-cause analysis across software, electronics, motion-control hardware, sensors, imaging subsystems, and mechanical components.
• Partner with electrical, FPGA, mechanical, optical, systems, product engineering, manufacturing, and field teams to bring complex equipment platforms from concept through production.
• Contribute to requirements analysis, design documentation, coding, testing, software integration, troubleshooting, and on-tool qualification.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with semiconductor manufacturing equipment, precision automation systems, optics, optical alignment systems, imaging systems, or precision measurement technologies.
• Experience with Galil motion controllers or similar motion-control platforms, industrial communication protocols, deterministic control applications, or related real-time control systems.
• Experience with MATLAB, LabVIEW, UML, object-oriented design, source-control tools, or advanced C/C++ development practices.

Minimum Qualifications

Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline with 5+ years of relevant experience; or a master’s degree or Ph.D. with 2+ years of relevant experience.

Minimum Qualifications

• Strong C/C++ programming skills for embedded systems, firmware, or software that interfaces closely with hardware.
• Working knowledge of Python for diagnostics, automation, scripting, or engineering tools.
• Experience developing software for embedded systems, real-time control, motion control, robotics, automation, or machine-control platforms.
• Understanding of embedded peripherals and hardware interfaces such as SPI, I2C, UART/serial, GPIO, Ethernet, FPGA interfaces, or inter-board communication.
• Ability to debug systems that involve software, electronics, motion-control hardware, sensors, and mec