Product Applications Engineer

Location- Chennai (Hybrid)

Experience- 5 to 8 years

Must Have-

- Comfortable working in a highly technical, customer-facing environment.

- Product or Semi conductor or Hardware Manufacturing company experience is a MUST.

- M.Tech / MS or Dual Degree strictly from IIT or IISc only. Background in semiconductor, materials, optics or related core engineering/science fields (to support wafer inspection products).

- 85% travel to Taiwan/Korea or Singapore.

Overview-

This is a highly technical, customer-facing semiconductor engineering role focused on demonstrating, optimizing, and advancing wafer inspection systems while helping customers adopt client technology and influencing future product development.

1. Supporting Wafer Inspection Products-

You would serve as a technical expert for wafer inspection systems that identify defects and ensure wafer quality during semiconductor fabrication.

Key responsibilities include:

- Troubleshooting technical issues

- Optimizing system performance

- Supporting process improvements

- Assisting with tool setup, calibration, and performance enhancement

2. Demonstrating Product Performance

A major aspect of the role involves customer-facing technical demonstrations, both in-house and at customer facilities worldwide.

This includes:

- Conducting product evaluations and experiments

- Demonstrating system capabilities on customer wafers

- Presenting technical results to engineering teams

- Supporting product qualification and adoption

Frequent interaction with customers and travel may be required.

3. Demonstrating Competitive Advantage

An important responsibility is to show the technical strengths of inspection tools compared to competing solutions.

This involves:

- Running comparative performance studies

- Evaluating defect detection capability, precision, and throughput

- Generating technical evidence to support customer decision-making

- Providing data-driven performance validation

4. Cross-Functional Collaboration

The role requires close coordination with multiple teams internally and externally.

Internal collaboration:

- Engineering teams

- Software teams

- Marketing groups

- Regional application/support teams

External collaboration:

- Customer engineers

- Process and manufacturing teams

You act as a technical bridge between customer requirements and product teams.

5. Technical Leadership & New Use Case Development

The role includes leading technical expertise and supporting new application development.

Key activities:

- Mentoring local application engineers

- Sharing technical best practices

- Developing new inspection use cases

- Solving unique customer challenges

This often indicates a senior technical or leadership component.

6. Real-Time Project Tracking

You would monitor and manage critical technical projects.

This includes:

- Tracking project progress

- Providing timely updates to leadership teams

- Identifying technical risks and escalations

- Maintaining clear documentation and reporting

7. Next-Generation Product Development

The role also contributes to future wafer inspection technologies.

Typical involvement:

- Product development and characterization

- Prototype testing

- Performance validation

- Providing technical feedback for product improvements