Physicist/Scientist IV at Applied Materials

Who We Are

Applied Materials is a global leader in materials engineering solutions used to produce virtually every new chip and advanced display in the world. We design, build and service cutting-edge equipment that helps our customers manufacture display and semiconductor chips – the brains of devices we use every day. As the foundation of the global electronics industry, Applied enables the exciting technologies that literally connect our world – like AI and IoT. If you want to push the boundaries of materials science and engineering to create next generation technology, join us to deliver material innovation that changes the world.

What We Offer

Salary:

$161,000.00 - $221,000.00

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.

Overview

We are seeking a Physicist/Scientist to develop and maintain firmware and electronics for high‑performance hardware control framework to support advanced imaging platforms. This role sits at the intersection of firmware design, electrical design and system integration. The ideal candidate must be familiar with the architecture of imaging systems and its key components, be comfortable working hands-on in the lab building benchtop prototypes and contribute to long‑term system architecture and reliability. Close collaboration with hardware and external software teams is also required.

Role Responsibilities:

• Build and test benchtop imaging prototypes. Develop and maintain a framework for hardware control, including motion stages, cameras, lasers, detectors, and other imaging components. Design and implement workflows for automated experiments.

• Read, understand, and upgrade our existing software framework, extending functionality while maintaining backward compatibility and code quality.

• Write robust, efficient C/C++ code for hardware-interaction and performance-critical modules.

• Design control logics for subsystems or added devices and integrate them into the main system.

• Design efficient data handling strategies.

• Debug and troubleshoot complex hardware–software issues using lab instruments.

• Collaborate closely with the hardware engineers to deliver integrated system solutions.

• Design simple electrical circuits to support high‑speed data acquisition and system control.

• Develop and maintain documentation, including software architecture diagrams, interface definitions, and testing frameworks to ensure long‑term code reliability and maintainability.

• Collaborate with external software teams to define and implement interfaces between control backends and higher‑level software systems.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, Biomedical Engineering, or related disciplines.

• Strong proficiency of modern C/C++ and Python for hardware control.

• 5+ years of hands-on experience with lab instrumentation and the ability to integrate diverse devices by developing custom control and automation framework.

• Demonstrated ability to read, understand, maintain, and enhance large, existing codebases.

• Ability to read and understand schematics and basic circuit designs.

• Solid understanding of real‑time constraints and low‑level hardware interfaces.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Familiarity with camera SDKs and image acquisition workflows.

• Hands-on experience with optical systems design and alignment.

• Experience maintaining or refactoring large-scale scientific or industrial control software systems.

• Familiarity with high‑speed data acquisition, imaging pipelines, or precision instrumentation.

• Experience developing automated tests or experiment frameworks.

• Knowledge of version control, code reviews, and software quality best practices.

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 Accommodations_Program@amat.com, 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.