Mechanical Engineering Manager

Who We Are

Applied Materials is the global leader in materials science and engineering solutions that are at the foundation of virtually every new semiconductor chip and advanced display in the world. The equipment that we create and service is essential to advancing AI and accelerating the commercialization of next‑generation semiconductor chips. Join us and push the boundaries of materials science and engineering in a company at the foundation of the electronics industry. The work we do together advances the world’s technology.

What We Offer

Salary: $163,000.00 - $224,000.00 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.

As a Mechanical Engineer, you’ll leverage your strong foundation in physics, mathematics, and materials science to process and resolve mechanical problems, design and implement custom mechanical tooling and associated processes, and enable the handling, assembly, and disassembly of parts, components, sub‑assemblies, and final assemblies throughout the product life cycle. You’ll be responsible for designing, developing, and modifying mechanical engineering layouts, schematics, and specifications. You will oversee manufacturing and installation processes, ensuring adherence to industry standards and regulations—and you’ll coordinate the procurement and assembly of mechanical components and equipment for design projects, identifying sources of critical parts and subsystems to resolve technical issues.

Role Summary

The Mechanical Engineering Manager (E5) will lead a team of mechanical engineers responsible for development and sustaining of advanced PVD modules and subsystems. This role combines people leadership, technical strategy, execution ownership, and deep semiconductor equipment expertise. The manager will drive new product introduction, customer escalations, cost reduction, reliability improvements, and roadmap development for vacuum, RF, thermal, process‑facing and precision mechanical assemblies.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of mechanical engineers across NPI, sustaining, and customer programs.
• Own mechanical execution of PVD chamber, pedestal, ESC, process kit, wafer handling and vacuum hardware developments.
• Drive architecture decisions balancing performance, manufacturability, cost, reliability and serviceability.
• Partner with process, systems, electrical, manufacturing, quality and supplier teams.
• Lead root‑cause investigations for field, manufacturing and customer issues.
• Manage schedules, resource planning, risk management and engineering priorities.
• Develop supplier capability and qualification strategies.
• Coach engineers on GD&T, tolerance analysis, FEA, thermal analysis and design reviews.

E5 Leadership Expectations

• Build organizational capability through hiring, mentoring and talent development.
• Translate business objectives into engineering priorities.
• Influence cross-functional leaders and drive decision making.
• Establish engineering best practices and technical standards.
• Lead multiple complex programs simultaneously.

Required Qualifications

• BS/MS in Mechanical Engineering or related discipline.
• 10+ years semiconductor equipment experience with 2+ years technical leadership or people management experience.
• Strong mechanical design background in vacuum systems, RF hardware, thermal management and precision assemblies.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary development programs from concept through customer release.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Deep PVD experience including process chamber hardware, cathodes, shields, deposition sources, ESCs, pedestals and process kits.
• Experience with advanced packaging, logic or memory applications.
• Knowledge of plasma-material interactions, contamination control, vacuum technology and thermal management.
• Experience with global engineering teams and major semiconductor customers.
• Familiarity with NX, Teamcenter, FEA/CFD tools and product development processes.

What Sets This Role Apart

The ideal candidate combines strong people leadership with hands‑on semiconductor hardware expertise. They are capable of guiding architecture discussions with senior technologists, supporting customer executives, driving urgency across organizations, and building a high‑performing mechanical engineering team capable of delivering next‑generation PVD products.

Additional Information

• Time Type: Full time
• Employee Type: Assignee / Regular
• Travel: Yes, 10% of the Time
• Relocation Eligible: No

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 View email address on click.appcast.io, or by calling our HR Direct Help Line at View phone number on click.appcast.io, 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.