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 worlds leading technology providers to accelerate the delivery of tomorrows 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 KLAs Global Products Group (GPG) which is responsible for creating all of KLAs 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

Team: Algorithm Broadband Plasma Wafer Inspection (BBP)
Type: Full-time Internship (Summer preferred; start date flexible)
Location: Milpitas CA (on-site)

Why this role

Join the BBP Algorithm team that powers some of the worlds most advanced optical patterned wafer inspection systems. Youll help push the state of the art in computer vision and deep learning to detect yield-limiting defectsimproving sensitivity robustness and throughput on production tools used in leading fabs.

What youll do

• Advance AI/ML models for defect detection classification and anomaly discovery on real wafer imagery; design experiments define metrics and drive SOTA baselines forward.
• Curate and engineer datasets (balancing/partitioning augmentation strategies labeling guidance) to maximize label efficiency and generalization across layers technologies and tools.
• Train evaluate and iterate using modern deep learning frameworks; build repeatable pipelines for preprocessing training inference and reporting.
• Prototype algorithmic ideas (e.g. semi/self-supervised learning domain adaptation uncertainty estimation active learning) and transition the best candidates into production-quality code.
• Optimize for scale and speed (efficient ops quantization/pruning GPU utilization) to meet on-tool and near-real-time constraints.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with system engineering and software teams on integration testing and demo/beta evaluations; contribute to documentation and quality practices.

Minimum Qualifications

• Currently pursuing MS or PhD in Computer Science Electrical/Computer Engineering Mathematics Physics or related field (exceptional BS candidates considered).
• Hands-on experience training deep learning models for vision (classification detection segmentation or anomaly).
• Strong foundations in linear algebra probability/statistics and optimization; ability to analyze complex noisy data.
• Proficiency with Python and modern DL frameworks (PyTorch or TensorFlow) on Linux; solid software fundamentals (Git testing code review).

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of image processing / computer vision beyond DL (filters registration morphology feature engineering).
• Experience with C in Linux/Windows and/or CUDA/GPU acceleration; familiarity with performance profiling and memory optimization.
• Exposure to MLOps practices (experiment tracking model/data versioning reproducible pipelines).
• Background or interest in semiconductor manufacturing (lithography VLSI processes) is a plus.

How youll grow

• Dedicated technical mentorship and collaboration within the Algorithm team; structured exposure to BBP inspection workflows and evaluation practices.
• Opportunities to present results influence model roadmaps and ship improvements that impact production inspections on real customer tools.

Internship details

Duration: Typically 1216 weeks (full-time) with flexible start based on academic calendar.
Work location: Milpitas CA; onsite.

Equal Opportunity Employer

KLA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants will be considered for employment without regard to age race color religion sex sexual orientation gender identity national origin protected veteran status disability or any other characteristics protected by applicable law.

Minimum Qualifications

Requires less than 1 year of related experience

Base Pay Range: $47.00 - $57.00 per hour based on pursuit of a Masters and Ph.D.

Primary Location: USA-CA-Milpitas-KLA

KLAs total rewards package for employees may also include participation in performance incentive programs and eligibility for additional benefits including but not limited to: 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.

Interns are eligible for some of the benefits listed. Our pay ranges are determined by role level and location. The range displayed reflects the pay for this position in the primary location identified in this posting. Actual pay depends on several factors including state minimum pay wage rates location job-related skills experience and relevant education level or training. We are committed to complying with all applicable federal and state minimum wage requirements where applicable. If applicable your recruiter can share more about the specific pay range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

KLA is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. 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 or at 1- to request accommodation.

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