Staff Storage Engineer HPC (Linux/storage stacks)

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 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.

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, KLA's Global Products Group (GPG), which is responsible for creating all of KLA’s 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

• Architect scalable, high-performance storage solutions across BBP platforms, aligned with long-term product roadmaps

• Evaluate and optimize storage architectures across diverse workloads (real-time processing, AI/DL pipelines, high-throughput data ingest)

• Analyze tradeoffs across performance, cost, reliability, and scalability (NVMe / SSD / HDD tiering, network fabrics, file systems)

• Perform hands-on performance characterization, benchmarking, and tuning of storage and I/O subsystems

• Identify and address performance bottlenecks across Linux, network, and storage stacks

• Drive internal innovation by going beyond standard vendor solutions and influencing architectural direction

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (hardware, systems, applications, field) to:

  • Gather requirements

  • Understand workload characteristics

  • Generate architectural options

  • Drive alignment toward optimal solutions

• Support evaluation, POC, and productization of storage solutions for future BBP platforms

• Contribute to internal knowledge base, documentation, and best practices for storage design and tuning

Minimum Qualifications

BS/MS/PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field

Deep expertise in Linux systems, including I/O stack, kernel behavior, and performance tuning

Strong experience designing and deploying storage solutions in HPC or high-performance environments

Strong understanding of storage technologies:

• NVMe, SSD, HDD, RAID, Tiered storage

• High-speed interconnects (InfiniBand, RoCE, or equivalent)

Hands-on experience with performance benchmarking, profiling, and tuning

Strong understanding of distributed systems and cluster architectures

Hands-on expertise with parallel file systems, including:

• Lustre

• BeeGFS (BGFS)

Doctorate (Academic) Degree and related work experience of 3 years; Master's Level Degree and related work experience of 6 years; Bachelor's Level Degree and related work experience of 8+ years

Base Pay Range: $159,500.00 - $271,200.00 AnnuallyPrimary Location: USA-CA-Milpitas-KLAKLA’s 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 talent.acquisition@kla.comor at +1-408-352-2808 to request accommodation.

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