Systems Engineer 1

Onto Innovation•Wilmington, MA

6d•Onsite

About The Position

Onto Innovation is seeking a Systems Engineer to support the installation, integration, troubleshooting, and field readiness of advanced semiconductor inspection and metrology systems within the Panel and Patterning Engineering organization. This individual contributor works with engineering, operations, field service, technical product support, manufacturing, product management, supply chain, and strategic customers to ensure reliable system performance and timely issue resolution. The role is primarily on-site in Wilmington, Massachusetts, with domestic and international travel up to 60% for customer deployments, escalations, upgrades, and tool acceptance activities. The successful candidate supports system installation, alignment, calibration, troubleshooting, and acceptance; diagnoses electro-mechanical, optical, automation, software, and subsystem-level issues; and partners with engineering teams on test plans, diagnostic data, and corrective-action validation. The role also provides hands-on customer escalation, field upgrade, preventive maintenance, and system recovery support, while documenting findings and collaborating across teams to close technical gaps and improve repeatability. The position requires safe work in laboratory, cleanroom, manufacturing, and customer-site environments, along with contributions to continuous improvement. The position requires at least 10 years of relevant systems-support experience and strong troubleshooting capability. A minimum education of an associate degree, technical diploma, military technical training, or equivalent hands-on experience is specified; equivalent experience may substitute for formal education when supported by demonstrated technical capability. The employer describes a competitive salary and benefits package, with annual bonus opportunities and potential long-term incentives.

Requirements

At least 10 years of experience supporting complex electro-mechanical, optical, automation, semiconductor equipment, or precision instrumentation systems.
Ability to troubleshoot complex systems using electrical schematics, mechanical drawings, diagnostic tools, test procedures, and structured problem-solving methods.
Experience working directly with engineering, manufacturing, field support, and customers in high-urgency technical environments.
Working knowledge of semiconductor equipment, metrology or inspection systems, motion control, pneumatics, robotics, sensors, machine vision, and system-level calibration.
Ability to travel as required and work in the United States.
Minimum education of an associate degree, technical diploma, military technical training, or equivalent hands-on experience; demonstrated technical capability may substitute for formal education.
Strong communication, analytical troubleshooting, independent thinking, assertiveness, disciplined execution, ownership, accountability, and ability to perform in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment.
Ability to occasionally lift up to 40 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

Associate degree or technical certificate in electronics, mechatronics, mechanical technology, engineering technology, robotics, or a related discipline.
Experience in semiconductor capital equipment, advanced packaging, inspection, metrology, lithography, process control, or high-precision automation.
Cleanroom experience, customer-site installation experience, and familiarity with formal issue tracking, ECO, and configuration control processes.
Certifications in safety, electrical troubleshooting, robotics, vacuum systems, or lean manufacturing.
Preferred education: associate or bachelor’s degree in engineering technology, electronics, mechatronics, mechanical technology, robotics, or a related technical field.

Responsibilities

Support system installation, alignment, calibration, troubleshooting, and acceptance activities for semiconductor inspection and metrology tools.
Diagnose electro-mechanical, optical, automation, software, and subsystem-level issues in laboratory, manufacturing, and customer environments.
Partner with engineering teams to execute test plans, capture diagnostic data, and validate corrective actions.
Provide hands-on support for customer escalations, field upgrades, preventive maintenance, and system recovery activities.
Document service findings, configuration changes, work instructions, and lessons learned to improve repeatability.
Collaborate with field service, technical product support, manufacturing, operations, supply chain, and product management to close technical gaps.
Maintain safe working practices in lab, cleanroom, manufacturing, and customer-site environments.
Support continuous improvement initiatives to reduce downtime, improve first-pass success, and strengthen customer confidence.