Field Quality Engineer

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. 

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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. 

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Field Quality Engineer

About the Role

We are seeking a Field Quality Engineer (FQE) to improve service quality, customer satisfaction, and equipment reliability across our installed base. This role serves as the link between field service teams, engineering, manufacturing, quality organizations, and customers to identify recurring issues, drive root-cause investigations, and implement sustainable corrective actions. Reporting into Global Field Quality and joining a growing global network of Field Quality Engineers, this is an opportunity for a confident, proactive professional who thrives engaging directly with quality organizations and customers — including close partnership with Customer Quality Engineers (CQEs) as key regional counterparts.

The ideal candidate combines strong technical problem-solving skills with a passion for continuous improvement, operational excellence, and customer success.

Key Responsibilities

• Analyze field service data, customer feedback, equipment performance trends, and recurring issue patterns to identify quality improvement opportunities.
• Coach field team on root-cause investigations and corrective actions for escalations and recurring product/service issues.
• Partner with field service, engineering, manufacturing, customer quality, supplier quality, and business unit teams to resolve complex technical problems.
• Improve the quality and completeness of service documentation, lessons learned, and knowledge assets to enable effective troubleshooting and knowledge sharing.
• Develop and track quality metrics, dashboards, and action plans to drive continuous improvement.
• Drive lessons learned, best practices, and knowledge reuse across the organization.
• Drive field quality capability development by reinforcing quality training, coaching teams on problem-solving methodologies, and promoting consistent adoption of quality processes and best practices.
• Support product introductions, ramp readiness activities, and field reliability improvement initiatives.
• Promote quality culture, first-time-right behaviors, issue ownership, and continuous improvement within the field organization.
• This position requires up to 50% domestic and international travel to support customer visits, field quality assessments, training, problem-solving activities, and collaboration with regional and global teams.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent field experience.
• 5+ years of experience in quality engineering or field service engineering (e.g., Customer Engineer, Field Service Manager), manufacturing, customer support, or a related technical role. Quality engineering and field service engineering experience are considered equally relevant.
• Experience leading root-cause investigations and corrective actions.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret technical data and identify trends.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Ability to work effectively across multiple functions and influence without direct authority.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in semiconductor equipment, capital equipment, high-tech manufacturing, or a related industry.
• Knowledge of quality management systems and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Experience with customer-facing technical support or escalation management.
• Familiarity with reliability engineering, failure analysis, and data-driven problem solving.
• ASQ, Lean Six Sigma, or other quality-related certifications.

Success in This Role

Successful candidates will:

• Improve equipment reliability and service quality.
• Reduce repeat failures and recurring customer issues.
• Increase first-time-right resolution rates.
• Improve response times and issue closure effectiveness.
• Strengthen collaboration between service, engineering, and quality organizations.
• Drive measurable improvements in customer satisfaction and operational performance.

Why Join Us?

This role offers the opportunity to directly impact customer success by transforming field experience into product and service improvements. You will work with cross-functional teams to solve complex technical challenges, improve reliability, strengthen service execution, and help deliver world-class customer outcomes in a fast-paced, technology-driven environment.

Additional Information

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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.