AI Robotics Engineer

Job description

from KLA careers

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 world’s leading technology providers to accelerate the delivery of tomorrow’s electronic devices. Life here is exciting and our teams thrive on tackling really hard problems. There is never a dull moment with us.

The KLA Services team headquartered in Milpitas, CA is our service organization that consists of Service Sales and Marketing, Spares Supply Chain management, Field Operations, Engineering, Product Training, and Technical Support. The KLA Services organization partners with our field teams and customers in all business sectors to maintain the high performance and productivity of our products through a flexible portfolio of services. Our comprehensive services include: proactive management of tools to identify and improve performance; expertise in optics, image processing and motion control with worldwide service engineers, 24/7 technical support teams and knowledge management systems; and an extensive parts network to ensure worldwide availability of parts.

Job Description/Preferred Qualifications

• Implement vision-guided reasoning systems that translate perception into physical actions for robotic platforms

• Build the decision-making layer that lets robotic systems plan, sequence, and execute maintenance tasks autonomously

• Integrate computer vision models with robotic control systems — bridging what the system sees and what it does

• Work directly with service engineering teams during proof-of-concept phases to understand real constraints and validate approaches in the field

• Design and implement safety constraints and fallback behaviors for autonomous operations involving precision hardware interaction

• Build simulation and testing frameworks that validate robotic behaviors before field deployment

• Collaborate with the vision team on model requirements — what the robotics layer needs from perception to act reliably

• Document system architectures, control logic, and operational procedures for field deployment

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field; Master's preferred

• 1+ years of experience building robotics or autonomous systems that operate in physical environments (strong new grads with demonstrated projects or research considered)

• Strong programming skills in Python and C/C++; experience with ROS/ROS2 or equivalent robotics frameworks

• Hands-on experience integrating computer vision with robotic control — perception-to-action pipelines

• Experience with motion planning, path planning, and task-level reasoning for manipulation or navigation

• Working knowledge of sensor fusion, state estimation, and real-time control systems

• Strong understanding of safety engineering for autonomous systems — failure modes, fallback behaviors, and human-in-the-loop design

• Comfortable in ambiguity — you thrive in early-stage work where the path isn't clear and you have to figure it out

• Excellent problem-solving skills and comfort working in hardware-constrained environments

• Prior experience in manufacturing, semiconductor, industrial automation, or field robotics is a plus

• Experience with reinforcement learning for robotic control or sim-to-real transfer is a plus

We offer a competitive, family friendly total rewards package. We design our programs to reflect our commitment to an inclusive environment, while ensuring we provide benefits that meet the diverse needs of our employees.

KLA is proud to be an equal opportunity employer

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