Skip to main content
Applied Materials Logo
Banner collage of diverse professionals: a smiling woman working on a laptop in an office, three colleagues walking and talking outdoors, a young man with a backpack smiling, and a lab technician in full protective gear inspecting a sample.

Waveguide Design Engineer

Apply
Job ID
R2512455
Date posted
07/18/2025
Location
Santa Clara, California
Category
Engineering

Who We Are

Applied Materials is a global leader in materials engineering solutions used to produce virtually every new chip and advanced display in the world. We design, build and service cutting-edge equipment that helps our customers manufacture display and semiconductor chips – the brains of devices we use every day. As the foundation of the global electronics industry, Applied enables the exciting technologies that literally connect our world – like AI and IoT. If you want to push the boundaries of materials science and engineering to create next generation technology, join us to deliver material innovation that changes the world. 

What We Offer

Salary:

$179,500.00 - $246,500.00

Location:

Santa Clara,CA

You’ll benefit from a supportive work culture that encourages you to learn, develop, and grow your career as you take on challenges and drive innovative solutions for our customers. We empower our team to push the boundaries of what is possible—while learning every day in a supportive leading global company. Visit our Careers website to learn more. 

At Applied Materials, we care about the health and wellbeing of our employees. We’re committed to providing programs and support that encourage personal and professional growth and care for you at work, at home, or wherever you may go. Learn more about our benefits. 

Waveguide Design Engineer

We are seeking a full-time Waveguide Design Engineer with experience in design and modeling of nano-photonic devices. In this role, you will join our waveguide design team with the opportunity for your work to end up in the next generation of augmented reality (AR) products. This position puts you at the core of the AR world, working with design, process, metrology, customer teams, and many others to develop new waveguide product designs.

The position requires an MS or PhD in optics, physics, photonics, or related field. Candidates must have relevant optical design experience, experience with tolerancing and design for manufacturing, familiarity with optical materials and fabrication methods, and excellent technical communication skills. Previous experience working on AR device product development is advantageous. Successful candidates must work well in collaborative environments.

Job Function:

  • Design waveguides for augmented reality (AR) displays using custom waveguide design tools
  • Collaborate with design, process, metrology, and customer teams to develop manufacturable, testable, and useful product designs
  • Provide expertise in AR display quality challenges and lead display quality problem solving efforts

Key Qualifications

  • MS or PhD in optics, physics, photonics, or related field
  • 5+ years experience in optical design (refractive, diffractive, and/or polarization optics)
  • 5+ years experience using optical simulation tools (RCWA, FDTD, FEM, etc)
  • Prior experience using optimization methods
  • Experience with MATLAB, Python, JMP
  • Familiar with optical metrology methods and metrics
  • Familiar with optical materials (glasses, crystals, thin films, adhesives, etc)
  • Familiar with waveguide manufacturing processes (Deposition methods, Dry Etch, Wet Etch, NIL, Photolithography, Dicing, Edge Blackening)
  • Familiar with physical metrology methods (SEM, TEM, Elemental Analysis, CDSEM, AFM, etc)
  • Excellent technical communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

  • Prior experience working on AR device product development
  • Prior experience in an optical lab environment

Additional Information

Time Type:

Full time

Employee Type:

Assignee / Regular

Travel:

Yes, 10% of the Time

Relocation Eligible:

Yes

The salary offered to a selected candidate will be based on multiple factors including location, hire grade, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and with consideration of internal equity of our current team members. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, candidates may be eligible for other forms of compensation such as participation in a bonus and a stock award program, as applicable.

For all sales roles, the posted salary range is the Target Total Cash (TTC) range for the role, which is the sum of base salary and target bonus amount at 100% goal achievement.

Applied Materials is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law.

In addition, Applied endeavors to make our careers site accessible to all users. If you would like to contact us regarding accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact us via e-mail at Accommodations_Program@amat.com, or by calling our HR Direct Help Line at 877-612-7547, option 1, and following the prompts to speak to an HR Advisor. This contact is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

Apply
View Job Location