Senior Software Engineer

Onto Innovation•Hillsboro, OR

About The Position

This position is within the Analysis Software Division and is part of the core software development team for AiDiffract, a complex analysis software system for optical critical dimension (OCD) metrology. The role participates in all phases of the software development life cycle, including requirements engineering, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance. If you are passionate about delivering high-quality software products, improving software development processes, and developing innovative solutions for complex metrology challenges in the semiconductor industry, you would be a great fit for our team. We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join the AiDiffract core software development team within the Analysis Software Division. This role will contribute to the design, development, testing, and maintenance of advanced software for optical critical dimension metrology in the semiconductor industry. The ideal candidate has strong software engineering skills, experience with C/C++, C#, or Python, and a solid foundation in data structures, object-oriented design, and DevOps practices. Experience with AI-assisted software development tools is expected, including the ability to responsibly evaluate AI-generated code and apply AI to improve productivity, testing, and documentation. Candidates with hands-on experience in either physics-based modeling or machine learning, especially for metrology, semiconductor, or scientific software applications, are strongly preferred.

Requirements

BS degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or a related discipline
Proficiency in at least one of the following programming languages: C/C++, C#, or Python
2+ years of professional software development experience
Strong understanding of data structures, design patterns, and object-oriented design methodologies
Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills for complex software systems
Passionate about delivering quality software products to customers
Good written and verbal communication skills
Ability to conduct independent research and solve complex technical problems
Familiarity with agile software development processes and DevOps practices
Experience developing software on Windows using Visual Studio and Azure DevOps
Hands-on experience using AI-assisted development tools such as GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, or similar coding assistants for software design, implementation, testing, debugging, and documentation
Ability to write clear technical prompts, critically review AI-generated output, identify hallucinations or incorrect assumptions, and convert AI suggestions into maintainable, production-quality code
Strong understanding of software security, intellectual property, data privacy, and responsible AI considerations when using AI tools in enterprise software development workflows

Nice To Haves

MS or PhD degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or a related discipline
Experience with physics-based modeling, numerical simulation, computational modeling, or related scientific computing methods
Experience with machine learning, data-driven modeling, model training and evaluation, or applying AI/ML techniques to engineering or scientific problems
Strong preference for candidates with hands-on experience in either physics-based modeling or machine learning, with the ability to apply these methods to complex metrology, semiconductor, or scientific software applications
Experience with parallel computing or high-performance computing (HPC)
Experience with semiconductor metrology applications
Experience integrating AI capabilities into software development processes, including AI-assisted code review, automated test creation, requirements analysis, and developer productivity improvements

Responsibilities

Design, implement, and maintain software features for semiconductor device metrology
Improve software quality through disciplined engineering practices, including design reviews, code reviews, unit testing, and refactoring
Collaborate with applications engineers, algorithm developers, software engineers, SQA engineers, and users throughout the software product development life cycle
Participate in software quality initiatives, including test automation in CI/CD pipelines, re-architecting and refactoring legacy systems, and implementing static and dynamic analysis tools
Identify gaps and inefficiencies in software processes and CI/CD toolchains, and continuously drive operational excellence within the team
Apply AI-assisted software development tools responsibly to improve productivity in coding, debugging, refactoring, documentation, and test generation while maintaining strong engineering judgment and code ownership
Develop and maintain secure, reliable workflows for evaluating AI-generated code, including human review, automated testing, static analysis, security scanning, and validation against product requirements