Photolithography Process & Equipment Development Engineer

Apple is seeking a talented Process or Equipment Engineer to join our Photolithography Engineering team. In this role, you will drive the research, development, and continuous improvement of cutting-edge lithography processes, materials, and equipment. You will play a pivotal role in advancing core manufacturing capabilities that directly influence the evolution and performance of future Apple products.

In this role, we are looking for a proactive and curious engineer who demonstrates strong ownership in identifying technical challenges and driving innovative solutions. Your scope extends beyond traditional process tuning—you will actively optimize equipment capability, tooling performance, and overall fab operational efficiency.

Collaboration is essential to your success. Throughout the development cycle, you will partner closely with the cross-region team and diverse cross-functional engineering groups to refine, validate, and bring your ideas to fruition. To build a holistic, hands-on mastery of photolithography, you will also engage in the maintenance and sustaining of our R&D line equipment, gaining critical insights directly from tool behaviors.

This role bridges scientific discovery and high-volume manufacturing reality. You will be expected to evaluate ideas through the lens of baseline yield, defect, process margin, and manufacturability—ensuring that cutting-edge innovations successfully transition from concept to scalable production.

Proactively identify technical bottlenecks and initiate R&D improvements across photolithography processes, materials, and equipment capabilities. Drive fab operational excellence by optimizing tool baseline stability, line running efficiency, and throughput. Cooperate with equipment and material suppliers to build a collaborative technical network and scout advanced technology solutions. Define and establish design and process rules across multiple technology platforms to ensure robust process windows. Support litho line process and metrology equipment operation, sustaining, and continuous development to gain deep, hands-on hardware and process-interaction knowledge. Collaborate closely with cross region team and cross-functional teams to mature, validate, and execute innovative engineering proposals. Conduct rigorous yield assessments and manufacturability studies to ensure scalable, production-ready solutions beyond pure lab-scale research.

MS degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Optics, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or a related engineering/scientific discipline. 3+ years of hands-on experience in photolithography process engineering, recipe optimization, or litho equipment tuning. 2+ years of practical experience operating, troubleshooting, and maintaining lithography process tools (coater/developer/stepper/scanner) and metrology equipment (CD-SEM, overlay, ellipsometry, or thin-film inspection). Proven track record in Design of Experiments (DOE) methodologies, statistical data analysis, and structured root-cause problem solving. Excellent verbal and written English communication skills, with demonstrated capability to articulate technical concepts and collaborate effectively with global cross-functional teams.

Solid domain knowledge in advanced display (OLED/micro-LED) or semiconductor fabrication processes, with deep specialization in photolithography. Hands-on experience with fab operational models, line dispatching, and structured manufacturing risk assessment (e.g., FMEA). Proven track record in technology transfer—successfully scaling processes from early-stage R&D to high-volume manufacturing (HVM). Background in organic materials development, formulation, or evaluation (e.g., photoresists, polyimide). Proficiency in material characterization and surface analysis techniques, such as TDS, FTIR, SIMS, FIB, and SEM/TEM. Experience with optical or mechanical simulation toolsets (e.g., lithography simulation tools like S-Litho/PROLITH, optical modeling, or FEA stress analysis). Familiarity with leveraging modern AI/LLM tools, machine learning, or automated scripts to boost engineering productivity and fab data/system management.