Base Pay Range: $124,100.00 - $211,000.00 Annually

Primary Location: USA-CA-Milpitas-KLAKLA’s total rewards package for employees may also include participation in performance incentive programs and eligibility for additional benefits identified below. Interns are eligible for some of the benefits identified below. Our pay ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The range displayed above reflects the minimum and maximum pay for this position in the primary location identified in this posting. Actual pay depends on several factors, including location, job-related skills, experience, and relevant education level or training. If applicable, your recruiter can share more about the specific pay range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

Company Overview

KLA is a global leader in diversified electronics for the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. Virtually every electronic device in the world is produced using our technologies. No laptop, smartphone, wearable device, voice-controlled gadget, flexible screen, VR device or smart car would have made it into your hands without us. KLA invents systems and solutions for the manufacturing of wafers and reticles, integrated circuits, packaging, printed circuit boards and flat panel displays. The innovative ideas and devices that are advancing humanity all begin with inspiration, research and development. KLA focuses more than average on innovation and we invest 15% of sales back into R&D. Our expert teams of physicists, engineers, data scientists and problem-solvers work together with the world’s leading technology providers to accelerate the delivery of tomorrow’s electronic devices. Life here is exciting and our teams thrive on tackling really hard problems. There is never a dull moment with us.

Group/Division

With over 40 years of semiconductor process control experience, chipmakers around the globe rely on KLA to ensure that their fabs ramp next-generation devices to volume production quickly and cost-effectively. Enabling the movement towards advanced chip design, KLA’s Global Products Group (GPG), which is responsible for creating all of KLA’s metrology and inspection products, is looking for the best and the brightest research scientist, software engineers, application development engineers, and senior product technology process engineers. The Broadband Plasma Division (BBP) provides market-leading patterned wafer optical inspection systems for leading-edge IC manufacturing. Logic, foundry, and memory customers depend on BBP products to detect yield-critical defects for process debug and excursion monitoring at advanced process nodes. BBP flagship products include the 29xx and 39xx series which leverage Broadband Plasma technology to capture a wide range of defects with ultimate sensitivity at the optical inspection speeds needed for inline defect monitoring.

Job Description/Preferred Qualifications

We are looking for a full-time Deep Learning Software Engineer who is passionate on designing and implementing Deep Learning (DL), GenAI and Foundation Model related software system to support image processing and computer vision applications at scale in the semiconductor process control business. The qualified candidates are expected to have software background with in-depth experience in deep learning especially for CNN and GenAI models. The qualified candidates are also expected to have deep knowledge on software system design for large scale Machine Learning or Deep Learning applications. The candidates are expected to be able to work with staff engineers to initiate, derive and improve a system design task, and be able to prototype, implement and complete a software system component. The responsibilities for this position include, but not limited to,  

• Work and communicate through a collaborative manner with peers in different engineering functions.

• Work in a cross-functional engineering team with global peers.

• Understand fundamental DL methodology and models – e.g., CNN.

• Understand DL algorithm from an algorithm prototype.

• Perform system design for a Machine Learning/Deep Learning feature.

• Perform system design for a ML/DL system component/workflow.

• Implement software for a ML/DL feature/component based on design.

• Evaluate software system performance on a design/prototype/implementation.

• Optimize the performance of a software system.

• Accelerate LLMs and DL optimization.

• Perform A/B Test between implementations.

• Complete a coding assignment with quality and on time.

• Perform professional technical presentation on ideas, concepts, results to peers and customers.

Qualifications/Education Desired

• PhD degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related Quantitative Fields.

• Academic or industrial experience on software engineering for machine learning/deep learning/GenAI applications, either at large scale or on real-world deployment, with impactful results.

• In-depth experience on at least one of the areas including DL training system, DL inference system, model quantization, or equivalent.

• Proficiency in Python.

• Proficiency in at least one additional programming language - from the list of C/C++, JAVA, Rust, Go, or Swift.

• Proficiency in at least one Deep Learning framework – e.g., PyTorch, Tensorflow, JAX, PaddlePaddle, or equivalent.  

• Proficiency in Software tooling including Docker and Nvidia toolchain.

• Proficiency in Database.

• Proficiency in Parallel Programming.

• Demonstrations of DL experience via technical publications in top journal/conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, etc), Industrial Patents or Impactful Open-Source Projects are REQUIRED.

Minimum Qualifications

• Doctorate (Academic) Degree and 0 years related work experience; Master’s Level Degree and related work experience of 3 years.

• Academic or industrial experience on software engineering for machine learning/deep learning/GenAI applications, either at large scale or on real-world deployment, with impactful results.

The company offers a total rewards package that is competitive and comprehensive including but not limited to the following:  medical, dental, vision, life, and other voluntary benefits, 401(K) including company matching, employee stock purchase program (ESPP), student debt assistance, tuition reimbursement program, development and career growth opportunities and programs, financial planning benefits, wellness benefits including an employee assistance program (EAP), paid time off and paid company holidays, and family care and bonding leave.

KLA is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other status protected by applicable law. We will ensure that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us at [email protected] or at +1-408-352-2808 to request accommodation.