Computational Plasma Physicist (Semiconductor)

Location: Santa Clara, California, United States; travel required 10% of the time; relocation eligible.

Salary: $138,000–$190,000 per year.

Company

hirify.global develops materials science and engineering solutions and equipment for semiconductor chips and advanced displays.

What you will do

• Model and simulate low-temperature DC and RF plasmas, electromagnetic fields, and multiphysics phenomena in semiconductor processing equipment.
• Develop, extend, validate, and test internal plasma, electromagnetic, and multiphysics simulation codes, using commercial tools where appropriate.
• Analyze simulations against experimental data and recommend hardware design changes to improve plasma uniformity, stability, and process performance.
• Apply physics-informed machine learning, surrogate modeling, and other data-driven methods to accelerate simulation workflows and design optimization.
• Communicate modeling insights to product development and engineering teams and serve as a technical resource on plasma physics and electromagnetic phenomena.

Requirements

• PhD in Physics, Applied Physics, Electrical, Chemical, or Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related technical discipline.
• 0–3 years of relevant post-PhD experience; postdoctoral research counts toward this experience, and recent graduates are encouraged to apply.
• Demonstrated experience in plasma physics simulation and modeling, preferably involving low-temperature or partially ionized plasmas.
• Experience developing or applying numerical methods for plasma, electromagnetic, or multiphysics problems, including fluid, hybrid, or particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision models.
• Proficiency in Python and at least one compiled language: C++ or Fortran.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams.

Nice to have

• Knowledge of RF discharge physics, sheath dynamics, electron kinetics, plasma chemistry, or plasma–surface interactions.
• Experience with RF/electromagnetic field simulation, including finite-element or finite-difference time-domain Maxwell solvers.
• Experience with parallel programming using MPI, OpenMP, or GPU/CUDA and high-performance computing environments.
• Experience with scientific machine learning, surrogate modeling, physics-informed neural networks, or other data-driven approaches for computational physics.
• Experience developing scientific software collaboratively, including version control, code review, and testing practices.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time regular employee position with a supportive environment focused on learning, development, and career growth.
• Comprehensive benefits supporting employee health and wellbeing.
• Additional compensation may include bonus and stock awards, as applicable.
• Travel is required for 10% of the time.