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:

$124,000.00 - $171,000.00

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 Summary

As a Global Software Support Engineer III, you will serve as a senior technical expert responsible for diagnosing, resolving, and preventing complex software issues impacting the installed product base. You will work closely with customers, field teams, product management, and software development to ensure successful deployment, qualification, and sustained performance of software releases at customer sites.

This role requires strong technical depth, customer‑facing leadership, and the ability to drive cross‑functional collaboration to ensure software quality, reliability, and customer success.

Key Responsibilities Customer & Field Support

• Lead investigation and resolution of complex software issues reported from customer sites and internal labs.
• Review, troubleshoot, and validate customer and field‑reported issues; identify root cause and submit detailed defect reports to the development team.
• Manage customer expectations and professionally handle high‑visibility software escalations to ensure software is not a showstopper for product performance or adoption.
• Act as the voice of the customer, serving as the primary interface between customers, account teams, and software development.

Software Validation & Deployment

• Verify and validate software functionality against diverse customer use cases to ensure deployment readiness.
• Lead cross‑platform and cross‑release software validation activities for new products and features.
• Install, configure, and qualify software releases on engineering, process lab, and customer tools.
• Support First‑in‑Fab (FIF) and early customer deployments to ensure smooth software introductions.

Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Product Management and Software Engineering on requirements gathering, specification clarification, and feature readiness.
• Drive smooth transitions from development to deployment, customer acceptance, and sustained support.
• Collaborate with hardware, process, and tool owners to triage and debug software, hardware, or configuration‑related issues.

Technical Expertise & Debugging

• Differentiate between software, hardware, and configuration issues during troubleshooting.
• Perform in‑depth log analysis, simulation‑based debugging, and source‑code review when required.
• Identify systemic issues in the software code base and proactively suggest improvements to development teams.
• Develop internal software utilities and tools to accelerate troubleshooting and issue resolution.

Training, Documentation & Knowledge Sharing

• Develop and deliver technical training for Field Software Support Engineers (SSEs) to improve response time and solution quality.
• Create and maintain software documentation including troubleshooting guides, deployment procedures, and known‑issue workarounds.
• Track software performance trends at customer sites and provide data‑driven feedback to product and development teams.

Qualifications & Experience Education

• Master’s degree preferred in Computer Science, Industrial Engineering, Engineering Management or a related field.
• Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of relevant experience will also be considered.

Experience

• Minimum 5+ years of experience in software product support, systems engineering, or related technical roles.
• Experience supporting complex, customer‑facing software products in a production environment.

Technical Skills

• Strong understanding of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).
• Hands‑on experience troubleshooting software issues using logs, simulators, and diagnostic tools.
• Code analysis and debugging experience in C and/or C++.
• Basic scripting experience (e.g., Python) is an added advantage.
• Familiarity with SQA methodologies and software release qualification processes.
• Strong working knowledge of Windows operating systems and networking concepts.

Core Competencies

• Excellent analytical, problem‑solving, and troubleshooting skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to collaborate across global, cross‑functional teams.
• Self‑motivated, adaptable, and eager to learn new technologies.
• Ability to manage priorities, meet deadlines, and operate effectively with minimal supervision.

Additional Information Time Type:

Full time

Employee Type:

Assignee / Regular

Travel:

Yes, 10% of the Time

Relocation Eligible:

No

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.