Principal Applications Scientist – Mass Spectrometry

Principal Applications Scientist – Mass Spectrometry

Location: Milpitas, CA

Work Mode: Onsite

Job Type: Full Time

Experience: 6+ Years

Education: M.Sc. or equivalent in Physics, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, or related field

Work Authorization: US Citizens / Green Card Holders Only

Travel: Up to 30% domestic and international travel

Job Summary

We are looking for a highly motivated Principal Applications Scientist – Mass Spectrometry to lead the development of application-specific solutions for advanced mass spectrometry products used in semiconductor manufacturing and process monitoring.

The successful candidate will work closely with business development, marketing, sales, engineering, and customers to develop market-driven applications, support customer evaluations, conduct technical demonstrations, analyze samples, and contribute to next-generation product development.

This is a highly customer-facing technical role with opportunities for growth toward Product Management or Field Solutions Leadership.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop deep operational knowledge of mass spectrometry products and technologies.

• Provide hands-on experience with instrument configuration, calibration, validation, and performance testing.

• Develop new market-driven applications in collaboration with customers.

• Support mass spectrometry system evaluations at semiconductor OEMs and fabs.

• Perform on-site system setup, debugging, troubleshooting, and performance analysis.

• Identify application-specific requirements early in the customer engagement process.

• Develop application-specific hardware and software solution bundles.

• Create support plans and execution timelines for key customer engagements.

• Build strong customer relationships through technical expertise and effective communication.

• Identify new application opportunities and prepare internal and customer-facing proposals.

• Deliver customer presentations and conduct pre-sales product demonstrations.

• Develop and deliver hardware/software operational training for customers.

• Acquire and analyze samples from prospective customers and prepare sample analysis reports.

• Support next-generation product roadmap development.

• Translate system specifications into component performance requirements.

• Participate in product development and engineering review processes.

• Diagnose and debug complex system-level issues.

Mandatory Requirements

• 6+ years of professional experience with an M.Sc. degree in Physics, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.

• Hands-on experience with analytical instrumentation, particularly:

  • Mass Spectrometers

  • Gas Analyzers

  • Residual Gas Analysis (RGA)

  • Plasma Diagnostics

• Strong experience with mass spectrometric residual gas analysis and sampling interfaces.

• Experience developing mass-spectrometry-based solutions for novel applications.

• Familiarity with semiconductor manufacturing processes, particularly:

  • Etch

  • CVD

  • ALD

• Experience supporting products or applications used for semiconductor process monitoring.

• Strong understanding of instrument configuration, calibration, validation, testing, troubleshooting, and system-level debugging.

• Strong customer-facing experience with technical presentations and product demonstrations.

• Self-motivated and comfortable working in dynamic or early-stage environments.

• Strong communication, relationship management, and team collaboration skills.

• Willingness and ability to travel up to 30% domestically and internationally.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with PLC/control hardware.

• Python scripting.

• LabVIEW.

• New Product Introduction (NPI).

• Product requirements definition.

• Prototype evaluation.

• Semiconductor OEM and fab experience.

• Customer application development.

• Technical sales / pre-sales engineering experience.

• Product roadmap development.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is an experienced Applications Scientist / Applications Engineer / Mass Spectrometry Scientist / Analytical Instrumentation Engineer with strong hands-on experience in mass spectrometry and semiconductor process applications.

The strongest candidates will have a combination of:

Mass Spectrometry + RGA + Gas Analysis + Semiconductor Manufacturing + Customer-Facing Applications + Process Monitoring

Candidates with experience supporting semiconductor OEMs, fabs, semiconductor equipment companies, or analytical instrumentation companies are highly encouraged to apply.

Work Authorization

Only the following work authorizations will be considered:

• US Citizen

• Green Card Holder

H-1B, H-1B Transfer, H4 EAD, L2 EAD, OPT/EAD and other work authorization categories are not eligible for this requirement.

Education

M.Sc. is required.

Ph.D. candidates are NOT eligible for this requirement.