Mechanical Design Engineer 4 - ESC

Who We Are

Applied Materials is the global leader in materials science and engineering solutions that are at the foundation of virtually every new semiconductor chip and advanced display in the world. The equipment that we create and service is essential to advancing AI and accelerating the commercialization of next-generation semiconductor chips. Join us and push the boundaries of materials science and engineering in a company at the foundation of the electronics industry. The work we do together advances the world’s technology. 

What We Offer

Salary:

$147,000.00 - $202,500.00

Location:

Santa Clara,CA

You’ll benefit from a supportive work culture that encourages you to learn, develop, and grow your career as you take on challenges and drive innovative solutions for our customers. We empower our team to push the boundaries of what is possible—while learning every day in a supportive leading global company. Visit our Careers website to learn more. 

At Applied Materials, we care about the health and wellbeing of our employees. We’re committed to providing programs and support that encourage personal and professional growth and care for you at work, at home, or wherever you may go. Learn more about our benefits. 

As a Mechanical Engineer, you’ll leverage your strong foundation in physics, mathematics, and materials science to process and resolve mechanical problems, design and implement custom mechanical tooling and associated processes, and enable the handling, assembly, and disassembly of parts, components, sub-assemblies, and final assemblies throughout the product life cycle. You'll be responsible for designing, developing, and modifying mechanical engineering layouts, schematics, and specifications. You will oversee manufacturing and installation processes, ensuring adherence to industry standards and regulations-- and you'll coordinate the procurement and assembly of mechanical components and equipment for design projects, identifying sources of critical parts and subsystems to resolve technical issues.

Role Summary

The Mechanical Design Engineer IV (E4) will serve as the technical owner for the mechanical design, integration, qualification, and lifecycle improvement of electrostatic chuck (ESC) and pedestal assemblies used in semiconductor processing equipment. The role combines deep mechanical design capability with working knowledge of vacuum, RF bias, high-voltage DC, thermal management, ceramic-to-metal interfaces, backside gas delivery, and plasma-facing materials. The engineer will translate process and customer requirements into reliable, manufacturable designs and will lead complex problem-solving across internal teams and key suppliers.

Key Responsibilities

• ESC & Pedestal Design Ownership: Lead concept through release for ESC/pedestal assemblies, including ceramic puck, aluminum base, cooling channels, backside-gas distribution, seal bands, lift-pin features, RF/DC feed interfaces, insulators, cables, and service interfaces.

• Engineering Analysis: Perform or direct tolerance analysis, thermal calculations, structural/stress assessment, heat-transfer analysis, and design trade studies. Use FEA and CFD appropriately to evaluate thermal uniformity, pressure drop, deformation, interface stress, and reliability margin.

• Electro-Mechanical Integration: Partner with electrical, RF, process, systems, and safety engineers to manage high-voltage isolation, RF current paths, grounding, creepage/clearance, filter and cable interfaces, backside ignition risk, and parasitic plasma risk.

• Materials & Interface Engineering: Select and specify ceramics, metals, coatings, adhesives/bond layers, O-rings, insulators, and surface finishes for vacuum, plasma, RF, thermal cycling, low outgassing, chemical compatibility, and particle-control requirements.

• Design for Reliability: Identify and mitigate failure modes such as ceramic cracking, bond delamination, CTE-mismatch stress, helium leakage, MCA/mesa wear, high leakage current, corrosion, backside ignition, residual charge, and chucking/de-chucking instability.

• Verification & Qualification: Define requirements and test plans; design fixtures; coordinate vacuum-integrity, chucking-force, thermal-uniformity, leakage-current, dielectric, lift-pin cycling, warped-substrate, RF, and life-cycle testing; analyze data and issue engineering reports.

• Supplier Technical Leadership: Lead technical engagement with ESC, ceramic, coating, bonding, machining, and cable suppliers. Review capability, drawings, process controls, inspection methods, failure analysis, and corrective actions.

• Documentation & Release: Create and review product specifications, 3D models, 2D drawings, GD&T, tolerance stacks, BOMs, test reports, FMEAs, design-review packages, and change documentation using disciplined product-development processes.

• Cross-Functional Execution: Technically lead complex projects with moderate resource, schedule, and risk requirements. Communicate trade-offs, drive decisions, and coordinate actions across globally distributed teams.

• Customer & Field Support: Interface with internal and external customers on complex ESC-related issues, lead root-cause investigations, and convert field learning into robust design improvements and reusable engineering standards.

E4 Level Expectations

• Functional Knowledge: Demonstrates depth and breadth of expertise in mechanical design and significant domain knowledge in ESC/pedestal technology.

• Business Expertise: Interprets internal and external technical challenges and recommends best practices that improve product performance, reliability, manufacturability, cost, and serviceability.

• Leadership: Leads functional teams or technical projects with moderate complexity and influences decisions without relying on formal authority.

• Problem Solving: Leads others in solving complex, ambiguous problems using analytical judgment, first-principles reasoning, structured experiments, and evidence-based trade-offs.

• Impact: Directly affects achievement of customer, operational, and product objectives; establishes approaches that may be reused across programs.

• Interpersonal Skills: Explains difficult concepts clearly, constructively challenges assumptions, and negotiates alignment among engineering, supplier, and customer stakeholders.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related engineering discipline.

• 7–12 years of relevant mechanical design experience, including ownership of complex hardware from concept through qualification and release.

• Proficiency in 3D CAD and production drawing practices, including GD&T, tolerance analysis, material/finish specifications, and configuration control.

• Hands-on experience with semiconductor equipment, high-vacuum systems, precision thermal hardware, or similarly complex capital equipment.

• Working knowledge of heat transfer, fluid flow, structural mechanics, thermal expansion, contact interfaces, sealing, and design for manufacturability/assembly.

• Ability to create product requirements, verification plans, engineering reports, and clear design-review presentations.

• Demonstrated success troubleshooting complex multidisciplinary hardware with limited supervision and leading root-cause/corrective-action efforts.

• Ability to work effectively with global suppliers and cross-functional teams; travel up to 10%.

Preferred

• Direct experience designing electrostatic chucks, RF-biased pedestals, cathodes, or substrate temperature-control assemblies.

• Knowledge of Coulombic and Johnsen-Rahbek chucking principles, ceramic dielectric behavior, high-voltage leakage, residual-charge management, and chucking/de-chucking controls.

• Experience with Al₂O₃ or AlN ceramics, aluminum baseplates, brazed or bonded ceramic-to-metal structures, plasma-spray coatings, low-outgassing adhesives, and vacuum-compatible elastomers.

• Experience designing backside-gas zones, coolant circuits, lift-pin systems, minimum-contact-area features, seal bands, RF feed structures, HV connectors, and associated test fixtures.

• Experience with ANSYS or equivalent FEA/CFD tools, DOE methods, FMECA, reliability testing, supplier qualification, and failure analysis.

• Familiarity with NX and Teamcenter, phase-gate/PDP processes, engineering change control, and semiconductor equipment safety requirements.

• Experience with large or warped substrates, panel-level processing, advanced packaging, etch, PVD, CVD, or related plasma-processing applications.

Additional Information

Time Type:

Full time

Employee Type:

Assignee / Regular

Travel:

Yes, 20% of the Time

Relocation Eligible:

Yes

The salary offered to a selected candidate will be based on multiple factors including location, hire grade, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and with consideration of internal equity of our current team members. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, candidates may be eligible for other forms of compensation such as participation in a bonus and a stock award program, as applicable.

For all sales roles, the posted salary range is the Target Total Cash (TTC) range for the role, which is the sum of base salary and target bonus amount at 100% goal achievement.

Applied Materials is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law.

In addition, Applied endeavors to make our careers site accessible to all users. If you would like to contact us regarding accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact us via e-mail at [email protected], or by calling our HR Direct Help Line at 877-612-7547, option 1, and following the prompts to speak to an HR Advisor. This contact is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.