Staff Systems Engineer

Onto Innovation•Wilmington, MA

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Onto Innovation is seeking a Staff Systems Engineer to provide senior-level systems engineering leadership for advanced semiconductor inspection and metrology products. This individual contributor will define system requirements, drive architecture and interface decisions, support integration and verification, resolve cross-subsystem issues, and serve as a technical authority for complex customer and product development programs. The position is primarily on-site in Wilmington, Massachusetts, with domestic and international travel up to 40%. The role leads requirements definition, system architecture, interface management, trade studies, verification planning, integration strategy, risk analysis, and technical issue resolution. It translates customer, market, and product needs into engineering requirements and acceptance criteria, and partners with cross-functional teams and strategic customers. The engineer also mentors colleagues, improves systems engineering practices, supports customer escalations, and drives closure of complex technical risks. The role requires a minimum of 15 years of engineering experience, including significant systems engineering responsibility for complex equipment or related high-technology products. A bachelor's degree in a relevant technical discipline is required; a master's degree or Ph.D. is preferred. The position may require occasional lifting up to 25 pounds and work in laboratory, manufacturing, cleanroom, customer-site, and office environments, while complying with company safety standards and customer-site requirements.

Requirements

Minimum of 15 years of engineering experience, including significant systems engineering responsibility for complex equipment, semiconductor capital equipment, precision instrumentation, automation, optics, imaging, software-enabled systems, or related high-technology products.
Demonstrated expertise in requirements management, systems architecture, interface control, integration and test, verification and validation, technical risk management, and customer-facing technical problem solving.
Ability to work independently, influence without formal authority, and drive results across cross-functional teams.
Strong communication, analytical problem solving, independent technical judgment, assertiveness, ownership, execution discipline, cross-functional influence, and ability to operate effectively with limited direction.
Bachelor's degree in systems engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, optical engineering, physics, computer engineering, robotics, or a related technical discipline.
Ability to occasionally lift up to 25 pounds and work safely in laboratory, manufacturing, cleanroom, customer-site, and office environments.
Must comply with company safety standards and customer-site requirements.

Nice To Haves

Experience with semiconductor inspection, metrology, lithography, process control, advanced packaging, optics, imaging, motion control, robotics, automation, software integration, and customer acceptance testing.
Familiarity with requirements tools, issue tracking systems, configuration management, reliability engineering, and formal product development processes.
INCOSE certification, Six Sigma, PMP, or equivalent systems engineering credentials.
Master's degree or Ph.D. in engineering or applied science.
Equivalent experience may substitute for advanced education when supported by demonstrated systems engineering leadership.

Responsibilities

Lead requirements definition, system architecture, interface management, trade studies, verification planning, integration strategy, risk analysis, and technical issue resolution for semiconductor inspection and metrology systems.
Translate customer, market, and product needs into clear engineering requirements and acceptance criteria.
Partner with hardware, software, optics, automation, manufacturing, field service, technical product support, product management, marketing, supply chain, operations, and strategic customers.
Mentor engineers, improve systems engineering discipline, support customer escalations, and drive closure of complex technical risks.
Close high-priority systems issues, improve requirements clarity, strengthen integration readiness, mentor engineers, and increase customer confidence in system-level technical execution.