Senior Software Engineer, Customer Escalations

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 worlds leading technology providers to accelerate the delivery of tomorrows 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 KLAs Global Products Group (GPG) which is responsible for creating all of KLAs 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

• Lead senior-level software sustaining continuous improvement and escalation resolution for Surfscan product lines with ownership for improving product reliability customer uptime release quality and long-term serviceability.
• Drive software improvements across New and legacy Surfscan platforms and related product families to support customer commitments and maintain strong market leadership.
• Act as the senior technical owner for complex field issues by triaging customer problems reproducing use cases leading root-cause analysis coordinating corrective actions and ensuring closure with clear technical documentation.
• Provide senior technical leadership across multi-site engineering teams in the U.S. and India Product Support Marketing Applications Systems Engineering and Service teams to resolve escalations and deliver robust customer-focused solutions.
• Coordinate closely with the CIP and Escalation teams in India to align priorities share technical findings track ownership and drive timely customer issue resolution across a global team.
• Define and influence validation strategies regression automation test effectiveness diagnostics and release evidence practices in partnership with development and test teams to improve software quality and reduce recurring customer issues.
• Participate in the full software lifecycle including requirements clarification design reviews implementation support validation deployment troubleshooting and post-release monitoring.
• Support deployment of service releases patches and customer-specific fixes while ensuring proper communication risk assessment rollback planning and release readiness.
• Analyze customer issue trends identify systemic gaps and recommend process tooling diagnostics logging and automation improvements to reduce repeat escalations and improve customer satisfaction.
• Be available for occasional customer-site support off-hours escalation coverage cross-time-zone collaboration and domestic or international customer travel as required for critical escalations deployments and issue resolution.

• BS or MS in Computer Science Software Engineering Electrical Engineering Computer Engineering or a related technical field.
• 7 years of experience in software development software sustaining validation test automation or customer escalation support for complex high-reliability systems.
• Strong senior-level programming debugging and system troubleshooting skills in one or more modern languages such as C# C .NET Python or equivalent.
• Hands-on experience working in Windows Server and Linux environments including log analysis failure reproduction and issue isolation.
• Experience with automated testing frameworks regression test development CI/CD practices version control defect tracking and structured release validation.
• Experience using AI-assisted tools to accelerate root-cause analysis analyze logs and failure patterns summarize technical findings identify likely resolution paths and improve speed and quality of customer issue resolution.
• Excellent communication analytical thinking interpersonal and cross-functional leadership skills with ability to explain complex technical issues clearly to engineering support management and customer-facing teams.
• Strong ownership mindset technical judgment and ability to independently prioritize and drive multiple escalations corrective actions and quality improvements while maintaining urgency communication discipline and execution quality.
• This position may require domestic and international travel to customer sites to support critical escalations deployments issue reproduction and resolution activities. The role may also require off-hours escalation support and cross-time-zone collaboration based on customer needs.

• Experience with semiconductor capital equipment inspection or metrology systems factory automation SEMI standards or high-reliability industrial software.
• Experience supporting customer escalations field deployments service releases patches diagnostics and customer-specific fixes for complex equipment software.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with globally distributed teams including engineering and escalation teams across the U.S. and India.
• Familiarity with Surfscan platforms SPx SP8/SP8 XP or related product families is a plus.

Minimum Qualifications

Masters Level Degree and related work experience of 7 years; Bachelors Level Degree and related work experience of 7 years

Base Pay Range: $136300.00 - $231700.00 Annually

Primary Location: USA-CA-Milpitas-KLA

KLAs total rewards package for employees may also include participation in performance incentive programs and eligibility for additional benefits including but not limited to: medical dental vision life and other voluntary benefits 401(K) including company matching employee stock purchase program (ESPP) student debt assistance tuition reimbursement program development and career growth opportunities and programs financial planning benefits wellness benefits including an employee assistance program (EAP) paid time off and paid company holidays and family care and bonding leave.

Interns are eligible for some of the benefits listed. Our pay ranges are determined by role level and location. The range displayed reflects the pay for this position in the primary location identified in this posting. Actual pay depends on several factors including state minimum pay wage rates location job-related skills experience and relevant education level or training. We are committed to complying with all applicable federal and state minimum wage requirements where applicable. If applicable your recruiter can share more about the specific pay range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

KLA is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We will ensure that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process to perform essential job functions and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us at or at 1- to request accommodation.

Be aware of potentially fraudulent job postings or suspicious recruiting activity by persons that are currently posing as KLA employees. KLA never asks for any financial compensation to be considered for an interview to become an employee or for equipment. Further KLA does not work with any recruiters or third parties who charge such fees either directly or on behalf of KLA. Please ensure that you have searched KLAs Careers website for legitimate job postings. KLA follows a recruiting process that involves multiple interviews in person or on video conferencing with our hiring managers. If you are concerned that a communication an interview an offer of employment or that an employee is not legitimate please send an email to to confirm the person you are communicating with is an employee. We take your privacy very seriously and confidentially handle your information.