Technical Program Manager - Etch Programs

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:

$110,500.00 - $152,000.00

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. 

Role Overview 

Central Engineering is seeking an experienced Technical Program Manager (TPM) to lead the development and commercialization of Central Engineering capabilities required by Etch products. 

This role has end-to-end program accountability for complex, cross-functional initiatives spanning platform, robotics and automation, software, systems integration, and advanced R&D capabilities. The TPM will work across Etch product groups and Central Engineering functions to translate product and chamber requirements into clearly scoped engineering programs and drive those programs from requirements definition through development, system integration, lab readiness, customer introduction, and commercialization. 

The TPM is expected to operate as an accountable program owner, not simply as a coordinator between organizations. The role owns program definition and execution across multiple engineering organizations, including scope, priorities, deliverables, schedule, resources, dependencies, risks, customer introduction, and Product Development Process execution. 

Success requires strong technical judgment, systems thinking, program leadership, and the ability to drive execution across organizations where engineering resources and priorities must be negotiated and aligned. 

Key Responsibilities 

Program Ownership and Execution 

• Own end-to-end execution of cross-functional technical programs supporting Etch product development and commercialization, from initial requirements and program definition through engineering development, integration, lab validation, customer introduction, and release. 

• Serve as the single-point accountable owner for Product Development Process execution for assigned Central Engineering programs supporting Etch. 

• Establish clear program scope, objectives, technical requirements, milestones, deliverables, resource requirements, dependencies, risks, and success criteria. 

• Drive programs to deliver integrated, working solutions, ensuring individual engineering deliverables come together successfully at the system level rather than managing functional activities independently. 

• Maintain accountability for program commitments and proactively drive recovery plans when technical, resource, schedule, or integration issues place commitments at risk. 

Requirements and Systems Integration 

• Partner with Etch product and engineering organizations to scope and translate chamber and product requirements into requirements for Central Engineering capabilities, including platform, robotics and automation, software, controls, systems engineering, and advanced R&D technologies. 

• Drive requirements alignment across product, chamber, platform, software, robotics, and engineering organizations to ensure interfaces, dependencies, and system-level requirements are clearly understood. 

• Work across multiple technical disciplines to identify integration risks, architecture dependencies, qualification requirements, and gaps that could impact product readiness or customer introduction. 

• Ensure engineering solutions are developed and integrated to meet the needs of the Etch product roadmap and intended customer use cases. 

Portfolio, Priority, and Resource Management 

• Manage a portfolio of Central Engineering programs and capabilities supporting Etch, maintaining visibility across program health, engineering resources, technical maturity, milestones, dependencies, risks, and customer commitments. 

• Lead the scoping and prioritization of new program requests and determine the engineering capabilities, resources, and organizations required for execution. 

• Negotiate and align priorities between Etch product groups and Central Engineering functions when resource capacity, technical dependencies, schedules, or competing priorities require trade-offs. 

• Identify portfolio-level resource constraints and cross-program dependencies early and drive decisions with appropriate engineering and product leadership. 

• Provide leadership with clear visibility into program health, resource needs, critical risks, decision points, and recovery actions. 

Cross-Functional Technical Leadership 

• Work across Product and Engineering disciplines to establish clear ownership and drive teams toward a common technical and program outcome. 

• Lead cross-functional execution across organizations responsible for platform, robotics, automation, software, controls, systems integration, and advanced engineering technologies. 

• Drive decisions across organizational boundaries and hold teams accountable for agreed deliverables, timelines, and technical outcomes. 

• Influence without direct authority by establishing clear requirements, data-driven priorities, decision frameworks, and escalation paths. 

• Resolve ambiguity around scope, ownership, priorities, interfaces, resources, and execution responsibility before those gaps affect program delivery. 

Risk and Customer Introduction 

• Own identification and management of technical, integration, resource, schedule, qualification, and customer-introduction risks across assigned programs. 

• Establish mitigation and recovery plans for critical program risks and escalate decisions when cross-organizational alignment or leadership intervention is required. 

• Coordinate readiness across engineering teams for lab integration, system qualification, product release, and customer introduction. 

• Ensure issues discovered during system integration or customer introduction are driven to root cause, corrective action, ownership, and closure. 

Qualifications 

Required 

• BS or MS degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline. 

• 5+ years of experience in high-tech product development, systems engineering, systems integration, engineering program management, or technical program management. 

• Demonstrated experience leading complex, multidisciplinary engineering programs involving multiple engineering organizations and technical dependencies. 

• Strong understanding of structured product development processes and experience driving programs from requirements through development, integration, qualification, and release. 

• Demonstrated ability to manage scope, schedules, resources, dependencies, risks, and technical integration across matrixed organizations. 

• Strong systems thinking and the ability to understand interactions between hardware, software, automation, controls, and product-level requirements. 

• Demonstrated ability to negotiate priorities and drive decisions and execution without direct authority. 

• Strong executive communication skills, with the ability to clearly communicate program status, risks, trade-offs, and decisions to technical and business leadership. 

Preferred 

• Experience in semiconductor capital equipment or semiconductor manufacturing technology. 

• Experience supporting complex semiconductor equipment development involving process chambers, platforms, robotics and automation, controls, embedded or application software, and system integration. 

• Experience with New Product Development, Product Development Process, NPI, system qualification, and customer introduction. 

• Familiarity with Etch equipment and technologies such as process chambers, vacuum systems, RF/plasma systems, gas delivery, automation, robotics, controls, and related platform technologies. 

• Experience driving engineering execution across product engineering, systems engineering, software, hardware, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, service, and business organizations. 

Ideal Candidate 

The successful candidate is a technically credible program leader and systems thinker who can operate across both product and engineering organizations. 

This person does not need to be the subject-matter expert in every technical discipline, but must be able to understand how the pieces come together at the system level, challenge assumptions, expose gaps and dependencies, and drive engineering organizations toward an integrated solution. 

The ideal candidate can take an initially ambiguous product or chamber requirement and turn it into a well-defined technical program with clear requirements, architecture dependencies, engineering ownership, resources, priorities, milestones, risks, and customer deliverables, and then remain accountable until the solution is working and successfully introduced. 

Why This Role Matters 

Etch products increasingly depend on capabilities that span multiple Central Engineering organizations and technical disciplines. Successful execution requires more than coordination of individual engineering activities. It requires system-level ownership of how those capabilities are scoped, prioritized, developed, integrated, qualified, and delivered as a working solution. 

The Technical Program Manager provides that ownership. 

By managing both individual programs and the broader portfolio of Central Engineering commitments supporting Etch, this role will improve requirements clarity, resource and priority alignment, engineering integration, risk management, Product Development Process discipline, customer readiness, and predictability of execution.

Additional Information

Time Type:

Full time

Employee Type:

Assignee / Regular

Travel:

Yes, 10% 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.