Advanced Commercialization Engineer IV (ACE Engineer IV)

Applied Materials•Kalispell, MT

4d•$116,000 - $159,500

About The Position

The Advanced Commercialization Engineer IV is a senior technical authority on Applied Materials’ New Product Commercial team, driving early commercialization of first-in-world semiconductor equipment. The role shapes architecture, manufacturability, cost intent, and supply readiness before design lock, aligning design intent, supplier capability, and manufacturing strategy while opportunities to influence the product are greatest. It solves ambiguous, complex problems with a systems-level perspective and provides technical program leadership across engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing, balancing technical, commercial, and operational trade-offs. The engineer leads Design for Excellence (DFx) and commercialization work from concept through early builds. This includes supplier co-development and capability assessment, should-cost and process-economics analysis, Master Layout strategy, and Virtual Analysis of incomplete or evolving designs. The role validates designs through supplier trials, laboratory activity, and early physical builds; identifies and mitigates cost, quality, capacity, supply, and producibility risks; and ensures learning leads to durable engineering action. It also coordinates cross-functional resources, communicates readiness and risk to program leadership, mentors less-experienced engineers, and contributes to best-known methods, tools, and processes.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing Process Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
Typically 7–10 years of relevant engineering experience in product development, DFx, new product manufacturing, supplier engineering, or commercialization.
Depth and/or breadth of expertise in mechanical and/or electrical engineering disciplines.
Strong working knowledge of manufacturing processes, including machining, sheet metal, frames, plastics, and precision fabrication.
Working knowledge of DFx and supplier engagement practices.
Working knowledge of should-cost principles and manufacturing process economics as applied to producibility and cost-risk assessment.
Broad understanding of the product lifecycle from concept through commercialization.
Ability to lead cross-functional teams in resolving complex, multidisciplinary technical issues with program-level impact while balancing performance, cost, risk, and time to market.
Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly and persuasively and influence or negotiate across disciplines and organizational boundaries.

Nice To Haves

Advanced knowledge of manufacturing process engineering or process economics.

Responsibilities

Lead front-end commercialization engineering during concept, architecture, and early design phases to influence manufacturability, cost, scalability, reliability, and serviceability.
Provide advanced Design for Excellence leadership, including DfM, DfA, DfC, DfS, DfR, ITO, and transportability, to guide early design decisions and prevent downstream issues.
Lead supplier co-development, capability assessments, manufacturing process development, and TRM alignment for complex parts and assemblies, ensuring supplier capability and manufacturing learning inform design before design lock.
Act as a technical co-owner of product definition by evaluating architecture, material selection, tolerances, modularity, and integration using data, modeling, and build experience.
Apply should-cost principles and manufacturing process economics to identify and reduce design cost risks; collaborate with Product Cost Engineering to validate cost assumptions and align on DFx recommendations.
Define and drive Master Layout strategy when design maturity is incomplete, establishing the minimum viable layout content and interface definition needed for Virtual Analysis progression.
Execute Virtual Analysis using partial models and evolving designs, documenting assumptions, constraints, design clarifications, and manufacturability, serviceability, and producibility risks.
Influence Design Engineering to resolve ambiguity that blocks commercialization readiness and ensure manufacturing strategy, producibility considerations, and supplier constraints are reflected in design direction.
Analyze mechanical and electrical designs for producibility and scalability, and lead virtual analysis and design validation through supplier trials, lab activity, and early physical builds.
Identify and mitigate commercialization risks, including RTM readiness, single points of failure, capacity constraints, long-lead components, cost risk, and quality exposure.
Influence manufacturing and sourcing strategies in partnership with Design Engineering, Supply Chain, DFx, and Materials teams.
Participate in and lead design reviews, providing authoritative commercialization and DFx input focused on cost, quality, cycle time, and scalability.
Drive engineering build and ELS learning cycles, ensuring issues are captured, reviewed, and mitigated while preserving DFx intent through launch and transition to NPI.
Ensure learning from builds and suppliers results in permanent engineering action rather than being deferred downstream.
Partner with Program Management and Materials Program Management to track DFx and commercialization inputs as program deliverables.
Eliminate design, supplier-process, and producibility risks across assigned subsystems, driving toward zero preventable SPSs and ensuring timely engineering-driven ESWs, ECOs, RCCA, and durable corrective action.
Mentor less-experienced engineers and contribute to best-known methods, tools, and processes.
Develop and drive technical execution plans for DFx and commercialization workstreams from concept through early builds, aligned with program objectives.
Coordinate cross-functional resources, track and mitigate technical risks, and provide grounded status and readiness assessments to Program Management and leadership in partnership with TPMs and MPMs.
Establish and govern approaches for commercialization and virtual validation when designs are incomplete, preserving architectural intent while enabling manufacturing and supplier strategies.