JOB DESCRIPTION
Want to discover just how far your intellectual curiosity can take you? You’re in the right place. For more than four decades, Axcelis Technologies has been at the forefront of innovation in semiconductor manufacturing technology. Chipmakers around the globe rely on our tools and process expertise to deliver the semiconductors that power modern life from smartphones and computers to cameras and cars. We have become a technology leader by providing the innovation necessary for business to thrive, quality of life to advance, and the environment to flourish—enabling a truly sustainable future.
Our influence is global, with more than 30 offices worldwide, an installed base of thousands worldwide and a customer list that includes the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers. Our team is expanding, and we are currently hiring a Principal Systems Engineer . We are looking for a hands-on systems thinker who embodies Axcelis's values of curiosity and creativity . The ideal candidate will thrive in challenging assumptions, rapid prototyping, and driving robust solutions that cross traditional engineering boundaries. This role will be based at Axcelis’s headquarters in Beverly, MA and offers an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the architecture of Axcelis's next generation of semiconductor capital equipment by turning ideas into production solutions.
Principal Systems Engineer, Platform Robotics & Vacuum Architecture
Serve as the system-level technical owner for robotics, wafer handling, and vacuum-platform architecture across existing and next-generation Axcelis equipment.
Translate product and customer needs into system requirements and architecture, lead cross-disciplinary trade studies, and drive integration and verification of mechanical, electrical, controls, software, safety, and vacuum subsystems.
Role and Responsibilities:
Own platform architecture for wafer handling, robotics, vacuum, chamber interfaces, and equipment automation
Convert product needs and use cases into requirements, interface definitions, performance budgets, and verification plans
Lead architecture trades involving throughput, wafer safety, particle performance, reliability, serviceability, cost, and platform reuse
Lead system integration and root-cause investigations on real hardware
Define and execute subsystem and system-level characterization, including motion accuracy, repeatability, vibration, vacuum recovery, fault handling, and wafer-transfer robustness
Partner with mechanical, electrical, software, controls, process, reliability, manufacturing, and field engineering
Guide supplier technical decisions involving robots, load ports, valves, pumps, gauges, motion components, sensors, and controls
Support NPI from concept through verification, production readiness, initial field introduction, and transfer to volume manufacturing
Establish reusable platform requirements and design rules across Purion product lines
Mentor engineers in systems thinking, interface management, technical trade studies, and verification strategy
Required Qualifications:
BS in Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronics, Robotics, Systems Engineering, or a related discipline
7+ years developing complex electromechanical equipment, or an advanced degree plus 5+ years
Hands-on experience with at least one of:
Semiconductor or vacuum-process equipment
Industrial robotics or precision wafer/material handling
Complex motion-control or factory-automation systems
Experience translating product needs into system architecture, requirements, interfaces, and verification
Demonstrated integration and troubleshooting across mechanical, electrical, software, controls, and sensor systems
Experience leading technical trade studies and design reviews
Strong experimental, data-analysis, and technical-communication skills
Preferred Qualifications:
Vacuum pumps, valves, gauges, conductance, pressure transients, leak checking, and vacuum-control sequences
SCARA or articulated robot…