Process Support Engineer III
About The Position
Applied Materials is seeking a Process Support Engineer III (E3) to support a customer account in Boise, Idaho. The role guides products through their lifecycle, from concept to qualification, and provides visible on-site customer support for installations, system diagnosis, service, and repair of complex systems and equipment. The engineer works with customers and R&D teams to develop semiconductor manufacturing processes, design hypothesis experiments and DOEs, analyze data statistically, and report conclusions from challenging process engineering experiments. This position serves as the customer-facing process expert on co-optimization projects spanning multiple Applied Materials business units. The successful candidate will develop expert-level proficiency in at least one core process area—Etch is required, with Etch, DDP/Gapfill, and Epi identified as relevant areas—and build working knowledge of a second process area. The role owns DOE scope, scorecards, trade-off analysis, and qualification or demonstration execution, and supports transfer of qualified processes into customer production, including HVM. The position operates across business units and customer teams, translating technical progress into clear updates for both audiences. It requires navigating ambiguity, coordinating priorities and decisions, maintaining review-ready documentation, identifying program risks, and mentoring less experienced engineers. The role is full-time, involves travel approximately 25% of the time, and is eligible for relocation.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field, or equivalent experience.
- Approximately 7 years of relevant semiconductor process or equipment engineering experience.
- Demonstrated hands-on process expertise in Etch.
- Working experience in at least one additional process area, such as Deposition/DDP, SRP, CMP, Epi, or Metrology.
- Strong customer communication skills, including the ability to present technical results, risks, and recommendations clearly to engineering and program-level stakeholders.
- Ability to work across business units and navigate competing priorities, ambiguity, and matrixed reporting relationships.
- Solid data analysis and DOE fundamentals, including the ability to develop a technical narrative from raw data to an executive-ready conclusion.
- Independent problem-solving skills and the ability to escalate risks early and clearly.
- Ability to mentor and coach earlier-career engineers.
- Fluent English.
Nice To Haves
- Prior direct semiconductor customer support in a fab environment, including installation, qualification, troubleshooting, or demonstration support.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the customer-facing process expert on assigned co-optimization projects, providing visible on-site technical support at the customer fab.
- Develop and maintain expert-level proficiency in at least one core process area and complete structured on-the-job training in a second process area.
- Drive co-optimization across multiple business units, owning DOE scope, scorecard management, and trade-off analysis across the combined process flow.
- Travel to supporting business units for lab demonstrations, data analysis, and recipe optimization tied to the co-optimization program.
- Own qualification and demonstration execution end to end, including readiness, primary technical ownership, systematic troubleshooting, and timely escalation of hardware or process risks with impact and recovery plans.
- Prepare and deliver internal and external status updates, run recurring update meetings, and maintain centralized, review-ready reports, recipes, and raw data.
- Understand customer milestones and decision timelines, and proactively alert management to roadblocks that could affect schedule or outcomes.
- Support technology transfer of qualified processes into the customer’s production environment, including transfer to HVM.
- Mentor and coach less experienced engineers and share best-known methods and lessons learned across the account team.
- Troubleshoot complex problems, perform root cause analyses, and resolve difficult process engineering and customer product issues.
Benefits
- Comprehensive benefits package.
- Candidates may be eligible for participation in a bonus and stock award program, as applicable.
- Relocation eligibility.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
