Senior Software Engineer, Customer Escalations

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. Our systems and solutions are used in the manufacturing of wafers, reticles, integrated circuits, packaging, printed circuit boards, and flat panel displays. We invest 15% of sales back into R&D, focusing on innovation with teams of physicists, engineers, data scientists, and problem-solvers working to accelerate the delivery of tomorrow’s electronic devices.

About the Role

The Surfscan group at KLA’s Global Products Group (GPG) is seeking a senior-level software professional to lead software sustaining, continuous improvement, and escalation resolution for Surfscan product lines. This role focuses on improving product reliability, customer uptime, release quality, and long-term serviceability while driving software improvements across new and legacy Surfscan platforms. You will act as the senior technical owner for complex field issues, providing leadership across multi-site engineering teams in the U.S. and India, as well as collaborating with Product Support, Marketing, Applications, Systems Engineering, and Service teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead software sustaining, continuous improvement, and escalation resolution for Surfscan product lines to enhance product reliability, customer uptime, and release quality.
• Drive software improvements across new and legacy Surfscan platforms to support customer commitments and maintain market leadership.
• Act as the senior technical owner for complex field issues by triaging customer problems, reproducing use cases, leading root-cause analysis, and coordinating corrective actions.
• Provide senior technical leadership across multi-site engineering teams, including teams in the U.S. and India, to resolve escalations and deliver customer-focused solutions.
• Coordinate with CIP and Escalation teams in India to align priorities, share technical findings, and drive timely issue resolution.
• Define and influence validation strategies, regression automation, test effectiveness, diagnostics, and release evidence practices to improve software quality.
• Participate in the full software lifecycle, including requirements clarification, design reviews, implementation support, validation, deployment, troubleshooting, and post-release monitoring.
• Support deployment of service releases, patches, and customer-specific fixes with proper communication, risk assessment, and rollback planning.
• Analyze customer issue trends, identify systemic gaps, and recommend process, tooling, diagnostics, logging, and automation improvements.
• Be available for occasional customer-site support, off-hours escalation coverage, cross-time-zone collaboration, and domestic or international travel for critical escalations.

Requirements

• BS or MS in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 7+ years of experience in software development, software sustaining, validation, test automation, or customer escalation support for complex, high-reliability systems.
• Strong senior-level programming, debugging, and system troubleshooting skills in C#, C++, .NET, Python, or equivalent.
• Hands-on experience in Windows Server and Linux environments, including log analysis, failure reproduction, and issue isolation.
• Experience with automated testing frameworks, regression test development, CI/CD practices, version control, defect tracking, and structured release validation.
• Experience using AI-assisted tools for root-cause analysis, log analysis, failure pattern recognition, and technical findings summarization.
• Excellent communication, analytical thinking, and cross-functional leadership skills.
• Strong ownership mindset, technical judgment, and ability to prioritize and drive multiple escalations and quality improvements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with semiconductor capital equipment, inspection or metrology systems, factory automation, SEMI standards, or high-reliability industrial software.
• Experience supporting customer escalations, field deployments, service releases, patches, diagnostics, and customer-specific fixes.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with globally distributed teams, including engineering and escalation teams across the U.S. and India.
• Familiarity with Surfscan platforms, SPx, SP8/SP8 XP, or related product families.

Pay

Base pay range: $136,300.00 - $231,700.00 annually.

Benefits

• Performance incentive programs.
• Medical, dental, vision, life, and other voluntary benefits.
• 401(K) with company matching.
• Employee stock purchase program (ESPP).
• Student debt assistance and tuition reimbursement program.
• Development and career growth opportunities.
• Financial planning benefits.
• Wellness benefits, including an employee assistance program (EAP).
• Paid time off and paid company holidays.
• Family care and bonding leave.