Manufacturing Equipment Engineer - Deposition- Semiconductor Operations
Keysight · Santa Rosa, CA
- Level
- Engineer
- Team
- Production
- Degree
- Required
- Industry
- Industrial
- Posted
- 9 days ago
The role in 30 seconds
An engineer-level production role at Keysight (industrial) in Santa Rosa, CA.
- They ask for
- degree required
- Tools it names
- PLC, Automation, SolidWorks, CATIA / NX
- Day to day
- some off-shift / weekend coverage
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Production Engineer roles in California: typical posted base $125k–$177k.
Median of the low and high ends of 44 live postings that list pay, out of 120 production engineer openings in California, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
California plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 119 other live production postings in California.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- Not stated
Typical $120k–$174k, from 36 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- New product launch 38%
- Lean 30%
- Root cause 28%
- ✓ Automation 26%
- Team leadership 23%
- Python 22%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for PLC, SolidWorks, CATIA / NX, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Production team at Keysight
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
- 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- How does off-shift and weekend coverage work?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: Keysight in Santa Rosa
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Full description from KeysightAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Responsibilities
Responsibilities: Own and serve as the technical expert for a suite of manufacturing equipment supporting deposition equipment. Troubleshoot and resolve complex issues related to metal deposition systems (sputtering, evaporation, lift-off). Coordinate vendor service visits for preventive and corrective maintenance events. Drive the capital equipment purchasing process, including
requirements
definition, vendor evaluation, and installation/acceptance support. Develop, execute, and continuously improve preventative maintenance and repair procedures (including documentation and training as needed). Respond to urgent equipment downtime events in the manufacturing environment and restore tools to production safely. Lead hardware upgrades, tool improvements, and automation initiatives to improve capability, uptime, and safety. Partner with process engineers and operators to support volume production and enable R&D process development. Drive reliability improvements to reduce repeat downtime and improve tool availability.
Requirements
Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a closely related field. Engineering experience in a manufacturing or similarly complex technical environment. Hands-on experience troubleshooting electro-mechanical systems (motors/drives, encoders, sensors, actuators, servos/motion control). Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to read and interpret mechanical and electrical schematics/wiring diagrams to trace signals, isolate faults, and safely return equipment to service. Willingness to learn new skills and tackle unfamiliar challenges.
Responsibilities
Own and serve as the technical expert for a suite of manufacturing equipment supporting deposition equipment. Troubleshoot and resolve complex issues related to metal deposition systems (sputtering, evaporation, lift-off). Coordinate vendor service visits for preventive and corrective maintenance events. Drive the capital equipment purchasing process, including
requirements
definition, vendor evaluation, and installation/acceptance support. Develop, execute, and continuously improve preventative maintenance and repair procedures (including documentation and training as needed). Respond to urgent equipment downtime events in the manufacturing environment and restore tools to production safely. Lead hardware upgrades, tool improvements, and automation initiatives to improve capability, uptime, and safety. Partner with process engineers and operators to support volume production and enable R&D process development. Drive reliability improvements to reduce repeat downtime and improve tool availability.
Requirements
Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a closely related field. Engineering experience in a manufacturing or similarly complex technical environment. Hands-on experience troubleshooting electro-mechanical systems (motors/drives, encoders, sensors, actuators, servos/motion control). Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to read and interpret mechanical and electrical schematics/wiring diagrams to trace signals, isolate faults, and safely return equipment to service. Willingness to learn new skills and tackle unfamiliar challenges.
Preferred Qualifications
Master’s degree in engineering or a related discipline. Direct experience with sputtering and metal evaporation systems in a manufacturing environment. Experience debugging
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
Overview Keysight is at the forefront of technology innovation, delivering breakthroughs and trusted insights in electronic design, simulation, prototyping, test, manufacturing, and optimization. Our ~16,800 employees create world-class solutions in communications, 5G, automotive, energy, quantum, aerospace, defense, and semiconductor markets for customers in over 100 countries. Learn more about what we do. Our award-winning culture embraces a bold vision of where technology can take us and a passion for tackling challenging problems with industry-first solutions. We believe that when people feel a sense of belonging, they can be more creative, innovative, and thrive at all points in their careers.