Test Systems Engineer, Test Excellence

23 hours ago

Santa Clara, CA, United States Applied Materials Full-time
Job Title

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.

Key Responsibilities

Find the test gaps that matter. Use field failures, factory nonconformances, failure analysis, 8D findings, FMEA/FMECA risks, and test data to identify where existing assurance methods failed to detect risk before shipment.

Translate failure mechanisms into testable requirements. Convert complex failure signatures and real-world operating conditions into specific, measurable, and defensible requirements that engineering teams and suppliers can execute.

Engineer system-representative test coverage. Define the functional, parametric, stress, burn-in, thermal, RF, high-voltage, leak, particle, interlock, and other tests needed to expose targeted failure modes before they reach an Applied factory or customer.

Challenge assumptions with evidence. Question legacy test methods, inherited limits, and accepted practices when they are not supported by data. Use engineering judgment, structured problem solving, and experimentation to determine what the evidence requires.

Own the test solution from concept through sustained deployment. Evaluate feasibility, develop the technical concept, define the specification and statement of work, establish cost and schedule, and lead design, sourcing, build, bring-up, validation, and production implementation.

Prove that the test works. Establish correlation, repeatability, reproducibility, measurement capability, calibration requirements, and acceptance criteria. Demonstrate with objective evidence that the solution detects the intended failure mode under production-representative conditions.

Deploy capability where it prevents the greatest risk. Bring test systems into operation at suppliers and Applied factories. Resolve implementation issues, coordinate engineering changes, and ensure the solution is practical, scalable, and ready for production use.

Preserve test effectiveness throughout the lifecycle. Establish the preventive-maintenance, calibration, out-of-tolerance response, configuration control, data retention, and performance-monitoring requirements necessary to keep deployed test systems reliable and effective.

Measure outcomes, not activity. Monitor detection effectiveness, test-system performance, false failures, escapes, NCs, DMRs, and other relevant quality and operational indicators. Use the results to verify effectiveness and identify the next improvement opportunity.

Prevent recurrence at the source. Apply lessons from escapes to improve supplier test mandates, Functional Requirements Documents, FMEA/FMECA, Design for Testability, and applicable product-lifecycle deliverables so that prevention becomes part of how future products are developed.

Lead across organizational boundaries. Drive multiple complex initiatives across suppliers, factories, Design Engineering, Manufacturing, Supplier Engineering, NPI Quality, Product Quality & Reliability, and business-unit teams. Communicate technical conclusions, risks, decisions, and business impact with clarity.

Build scalable Test Excellence capability. Create reusable requirements, methods, standards, specifications, and validation practices. Mentor other engineers, transfer knowledge, and raise the organization's ability to find the right problems and solve them permanently.