Specialist, AI Engineer

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.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

Required skills/Competencies

• Programming Languages

  • Strong in Python, data structures, and algorithms.

  • Hands-on with NumPy, Pandas, Scikit-learn for ML prototyping.

• Machine Learning Frameworks

  • Understanding of supervised/unsupervised learning, regularization, feature engineering, model selection, cross-validation, ensemble methods (XGBoost, LightGBM).

• Deep Learning Techniques

  • Proficiency with PyTorch or TensorFlow/Keras

  • Knowledge of CNNs, RNNs, LSTMs, Transformers, Attention mechanisms.

  • Familiarity with optimization (Adam, SGD), dropout, batch norm.

• LLMs & RAG

  • Hugging Face Transformers (tokenizers, embeddings, model fine-tuning).

  • Vector databases (Milvus, FAISS, Pinecone, ElasticSearch).

  • Prompt engineering, function/tool calling, JSON schema outputs.

• Data & Tools

  • SQL fundamentals; exposure to data wrangling and pipelines.

  • Git/GitHub, Jupyter, basic Docker.

What are we looking for?

• Solid academic foundation with strong applied ML/DL exposure.

• Curiosity to learn cutting-edge AI and willingness to experiment.

• Clear communicator who can explain ML/LLM trade-offs simply.

• Strong problem-solving and ownership mindset.

Minimum Qualifications

Doctorate (Academic) Degree and 5 years related work experience; Master's Level Degree and related work experience of 8 years; Bachelor's Level Degree and related work experience of 7 years in building AI systems/solutions with Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and LLMs.

We offer a competitive, family friendly total rewards package. We design our programs to reflect our commitment to an inclusive environment, while ensuring we provide benefits that meet the diverse needs of our employees.

KLA is proud to be an equal opportunity employer

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 KLA’s Careers websitefor 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 talent.acquisition@kla.com to confirm the person you are communicating with is an employee. We take your privacy very seriously and confidentially handle your information.