Full-Time

Senior Applications Engineer

Onto Innovation

Onto Innovation

1,001-5,000 employees

Semiconductor process-control metrology and inspection equipment

Compensation Overview

$115.2k - $172.8k/yr

+ Annual bonus + Long-term incentives

Company Does Not Provide H1B Sponsorship

Wilmington, MA, USA

In Person

Domestic and international travel of up to 30% is required.

Bachelor's, Master's, PhD

Category
Software Engineering (1)
Required Skills
Python
Metrology
SQL
Machine Learning
MATLAB
Computer Vision
Data Analysis

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Requirements
  • A bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, Computer Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related technical discipline with 5+ years of experience in semiconductor inspection, metrology, applications engineering, process engineering, yield engineering, or related fields.
  • A master's degree in a relevant engineering or scientific discipline with 2+ years of industry experience in semiconductor inspection, metrology, applications engineering, process engineering, or related technical fields.
  • A Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, Computer Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
  • Strong understanding of semiconductor manufacturing processes, defect inspection principles, and process control methodologies.
  • Demonstrated ability to solve complex technical problems through data-driven analysis.
  • Strong written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
  • Experience working effectively in multinational and multicultural environments with geographically distributed teams and customers.
  • Ability to collaborate across multiple functions and organizational levels in a fast-paced environment.
  • Ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 30%.
Responsibilities
  • Lead development and optimization of advanced inspection recipes for defect detection, classification, process monitoring, and yield improvement applications.
  • Design customer-focused workflows that demonstrate product differentiation, manufacturing relevance, and business value.
  • Establish and validate Best Known Methods for global deployment across multiple inspection platforms.
  • Drive application strategies supporting wafer inspection, advanced packaging, heterogeneous integration, and emerging semiconductor technologies.
  • Provide technical leadership and mentorship to junior engineers and cross-functional project teams.
  • Lead application characterization, benchmarking, and qualification activities for new products and roadmap technologies.
  • Develop and execute comprehensive validation plans covering sensitivity, accuracy, throughput, nuisance rate, repeatability, and production readiness.
  • Define customer-relevant use cases and performance benchmarks for product acceptance.
  • Support release readiness reviews and ensure successful product deployment.
  • Partner with Product Management and Development teams to influence product requirements and roadmap priorities.
  • Lead technical demonstrations for customers, executive reviews, product launches, and marketing initiatives.
  • Develop evaluation workflows that highlight product capabilities and competitive advantages.
  • Support strategic customer evaluations, proof-of-concept projects, and competitive benchmark studies.
  • Define success criteria and technical evaluation methodologies for customer engagements.
  • Serve as a technical expert and trusted advisor during critical customer programs.
  • Collaborate closely with Systems, Optics, Software, Algorithms, Product Management, Marketing, and Business Units.
  • Translate customer requirements into actionable product and application requirements.
  • Provide structured application feedback that influences technology development and product specifications.
  • Coordinate activities across multiple engineering and business organizations to achieve product readiness objectives.
  • Represent Applications Engineering in product development reviews and technology planning discussions.
  • Analyze inspection, process, and customer datasets to identify optimization opportunities and drive performance improvements.
  • Lead machine learning and Automated Defect Classification validation initiatives.
  • Develop statistical methodologies and data-driven approaches for application optimization.
  • Generate performance reports, benchmark analyses, and customer-facing technical documentation.
  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives that enhance product performance and customer productivity.
  • Develop application guides, validation reports, best practices, deployment procedures, and technical documentation.
  • Establish and maintain global application standards and processes.
  • Deliver training programs for engineering teams, field organizations, and customers.
  • Lead knowledge-transfer activities supporting global application deployment and product adoption.
  • Mentor junior engineers and contribute to organizational capability development.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with semiconductor inspection, automated optical inspection, metrology, advanced packaging, process control, or yield enhancement solutions.
  • Knowledge of machine learning, image processing, computer vision, and Automated Defect Classification technologies.
  • Proficiency with analytical and data science tools such as Python, MATLAB, SQL, JMP, or equivalent platforms.
  • Experience supporting New Product Introduction, product qualification, and technology commercialization activities.
  • Experience leading customer demonstrations, proof-of-concept evaluations, or strategic technical projects.
  • Familiarity with semiconductor manufacturing workflows, process monitoring, and yield improvement methodologies.
  • Proven ability to lead cross-functional technical initiatives and influence product direction.
  • Experience mentoring engineers and providing technical leadership across organizations.

Onto Innovation provides semiconductor capital equipment and software for process control, metrology, and inspection. Its tools include 3D metrology, macro defect inspection, unpatterned wafer quality assessment, and factory analytics software for front-end fabs, advanced packaging, and specialty manufacturers. It differentiates itself by delivering end-to-end process control across front-end and back-end with integrated hardware and analytics, built from the Nanometrics and Rudolph merger and focused on complex architectures like chiplets and heterogeneous integration. Its goal is to help chipmakers increase device yield, boost productivity, and lower total production costs, aligning with AI infrastructure spending and advanced-node development.

Company Size

1,001-5,000

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

Wilmington, Massachusetts

Founded

2019

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Q2 2026 revenue hit $343.1 million, up 35.3% year over year.
  • Dragonfly G5 won an HBM manufacturer evaluation, with shipments starting Q2 2026.
  • Rigaku closed August 10, 2026, deepening access to next-generation X-ray process control.

What critics are saying

  • KLA dominates process control, compressing Onto's pricing power and customer win rates.
  • The $720 million Rigaku stake and $500 million bridge loan strain capital allocation.
  • If HBM and advanced packaging spending pauses after 2026, Onto's growth engine weakens.

What makes Onto Innovation unique

  • Onto's Dragonfly G5 now targets 150nm defects across front-end and advanced packaging.
  • Atlas G6 extends metrology into gate-all-around and HBM nodes.
  • The Rigaku alliance adds X-ray metrology to Onto's optical inspection and software stack.

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Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

Paid Vacation

401(k) Retirement Plan

401(k) Company Match

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Wellness Program

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

-1%

1 year growth

-1%

2 year growth

-1%
Yahoo Finance
Aug 11th, 2026
Onto Innovation jumps 6% as Camtek posts record $133M quarter and NVIDIA seals $500B AI deal

Onto Innovation surged 6% on Tuesday following strong earnings from peer company Camtek and broader AI-driven semiconductor demand. The stock has risen 85% year to date. Camtek reported record Q2 revenue of $133 million and disclosed year-to-date bookings exceeding $600 million, with deliveries extending into 2027. The company guided Q3 revenue to $158 million to $160 million and expects Advanced Packaging revenue to grow approximately 70% between Q1 and Q4 2026, driven by AI-linked HBM memory and chiplet architectures. Onto Innovation had already reported strong Q1 results in May, with record revenue of $292 million and advanced nodes revenue up 13% sequentially. Management guided Q2 revenue to $320 million to $330 million. Both companies are benefiting from accelerating demand for advanced packaging inspection tools used in AI chip manufacturing.

Yahoo Finance
Aug 7th, 2026
Onto Innovation beats Q2 estimates with $1.93 EPS, revenue hits $343M

Onto Innovation reported second-quarter earnings of $1.93 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.68 per share. This represents an earnings surprise of 14.88% and compares to earnings of $1.25 per share a year ago. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker posted revenues of $343.13 million for the quarter ended June 2026, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.38%. Year-ago revenues were $253.6 million. Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates three times and topped revenue estimates three times. Onto Innovation shares have gained 74.8% year-to-date, versus the S&P 500's gain of 12.8%. The company currently holds a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

MarketBeat
Aug 1st, 2026
Onto Innovation Inc. $ONTO shares sold by Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC.

Onto Innovation Inc. $ONTO shares sold by Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC. August 1, 2026 Key points. * Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC cut its Onto Innovation stake by 30.9% in the first quarter, selling 123,516 shares and retaining 275,689 shares valued at approximately $56.5 million. * Onto Innovation reported quarterly EPS of $1.42, beating estimates of $1.38, while revenue rose 9.5% year over year to $291.95 million. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $7.14. * Despite a recent "hold" downgrade, analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus "Buy" rating and an average price target of $339.60 versus the stock's quoted $257.81 price. * Five stocks we like better than Onto Innovation. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lowered its position in Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO - Free Report) by 30.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 275,689 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 123,516 shares during the period. Onto Innovation comprises approximately 0.7% of Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned about 0.55% of Onto Innovation worth $56,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ONTO. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 395 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Onto Innovation by 4.9% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Onto Innovation by 71.2% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 178 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,165 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Onto Innovation by 147.8% during the 1st quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 166 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.35% of the company's stock. Onto Innovation trading up 2.9%. Shares of ONTO opened at $257.81 on Friday. Onto Innovation Inc. has a 12-month low of $89.40 and a 12-month high of $386.46. The stock has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.47, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $295.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $253.36. Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The semiconductor company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.04. Onto Innovation had a net margin of 10.32% and a return on equity of 11.68%. The business had revenue of $291.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year. Wall Street analysts forecast growth. Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Onto Innovation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Onto Innovation from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Onto Innovation from $370.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $339.60. About Onto Innovation. Onto Innovation NYSE: ONTO is a global supplier of advanced process control and inspection systems for semiconductor and electronics manufacturers. The company's solutions span metrology, inspection, defect review and lithography mask repair, helping customers optimize yield, reduce costs and improve device performance. By integrating high-resolution optical and e-beam tools with sophisticated software analytics, Onto Innovation enables wafer, mask and advanced packaging producers to maintain tight process control across leading-edge nodes and specialty applications. Key products include high-throughput wafer metrology systems, optical and e-beam defect inspection platforms, mask inspection and repair tools, and data-driven software for yield management and process optimization. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. Before you consider Onto Innovation, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Onto Innovation wasn't on the list. While Onto Innovation currently has a Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. Learn the basics of options trading and how to use them to boost returns and manage risk with this free report from MarketBeat. Click the link below to get your free copy.

Yahoo Finance
Jul 3rd, 2026
Onto Innovation targets $295–310 on AI chip demand and 25% annual growth in advanced nodes

Onto Innovation Inc. raised $710 million through a strategic investment in Rigaku, securing a 27% stake to integrate X-ray metrology with its optical inspection systems. The semiconductor equipment maker is positioned to benefit from AI infrastructure buildout, focusing on advanced packaging, high-bandwidth memory and Gate-All-Around process technologies. The company reported first-quarter revenue of approximately $292 million, beating expectations with nearly 10% year-over-year growth. Adjusted earnings per share of $1.42 exceeded estimates, whilst non-GAAP gross margins expanded to 55.7%. Onto's Dragonfly G5 platform has become embedded in 2.5D and HBM packaging inspection for GPU and memory stacks used by Nvidia, SK Hynix and TSMC. The company's Atlas G6 is gaining traction in sub-2nm manufacturing metrology, positioning it for the next major semiconductor node transition.

Yahoo Finance
Jun 10th, 2026
Onto Innovation stock surges to $365 as memory bottleneck drives AI growth

Onto Innovation Inc., a semiconductor process control tools manufacturer, has received multiple analyst upgrades following strong first-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings. Craig Ellis of B. Riley Securities raised the price target from $330 to $365, whilst Edward Yang of Oppenheimer increased his target from $350 to $370. The company reported Q1 revenue of $292 million, representing a 10% sequential increase. Management guided second-quarter revenue between $320 million and $330 million, suggesting full-year 2026 revenue could exceed $1.3 billion. Analysts attribute the positive momentum to AI-driven demand, particularly in high-bandwidth memory and advanced packaging technologies. Jeffries noted that Onto Innovation's core business in HBM and CoWoS continues to strengthen, with new growth opportunities emerging over time.