Hpc Engineer Jobs in California
Hpc Engineer jobs in California sit at the center of one of the most active high-performance computing markets in the country, with demand concentrated in national laboratories, defense contractors, semiconductor firms, and research universities at every level from entry-level systems associate through senior principal engineer. The heaviest hiring is in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, and the Los Angeles metro, where employers such as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Qualcomm, and Northrop Grumman maintain long-standing hpc programs. The most in-demand specialties are parallel computing, GPU-accelerated workloads, and large-scale cluster administration. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Showing 5 of 18+ Hpc Engineer jobs
Company Overview
KLA is a global leader in diversified electronics for the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. Virtually every electronic device in the world is produced using our technologies. No laptop, smartphone, wearable device, voice-controlled gadget, flexible screen, VR device or smart car would have made it into your hands without us. KLA invents systems and solutions for the manufacturing of wafers and reticles, integrated circuits, packaging, printed circuit boards and flat panel displays. The innovative ideas and devices that are advancing humanity all begin with inspiration, research and development. KLA focuses more than average on innovation and we invest 15% of sales back into R&D. Our expert teams of physicists, engineers, data scientists and problem-solvers work together with the world’s leading technology providers to accelerate the delivery of tomorrow’s electronic devices. Life here is exciting and our teams thrive on tackling really hard problems. There is never a dull moment with us.
Group/Division
Enabling the movement toward advanced chip design, KLA's Measurement, Analytics and Control group (MACH) is looking for the best and brightest research scientists, software engineers, application development engineers and senior product technology process engineers to join our team. The MACH team's mission is to collaborate with our customers to innovate technologies and solutions that detect and control highly complex process variations—at their source—rather than compensate for them at later stages of the manufacturing process. With over 40 years of semiconductor process control experience, chipmakers around the globe rely on KLA to ensure that their fabs ramp next-generation devices to volume production quickly and cost-effectively. Our MACH team develops leading-edge solutions for patterning process analytics and control technologies, thereby providing customers with critical insight at the feature level, field level and cross-wafer analysis. Our teams also develop advanced modeling simulation, data analytics and process control modeling technologies. As a member of the MACH team, you’ll be joining the most sophisticated and successful process-control company in the semiconductor industry—working across functions to solve the most complex technical problems in the digital age.
Role Overview
In this role, you will lead the architecture, deployment, and operational support of a high-performance computing (HPC) cluster platform used across IC fabrication facilities and mask shops globally.
You will partner with engineering stakeholders to gather requirements, design scalable solutions, and drive implementation from concept through production. This role requires a strong balance of systems architecture, hands-on engineering, and operational excellence in complex HPC environments.
Key Responsibilities
- Design and architect scalable, high-performance HPC cluster solutions for global manufacturing environments
- Lead deployment, configuration, and lifecycle management of cluster infrastructure
- Collaborate with developers and cross-functional teams to understand requirements and translate them into technical solutions
- Drive solutions from design through production, including implementation, validation, and support
- Ensure system reliability, performance, and availability across compute, storage, and networking layers
- Support ongoing operations, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement of HPC systems
- Contribute to automation, standardization, and DevOps best practices across the platform
Qualifications & Experience
Systems & Infrastructure
- Deep expertise in Linux operating systems (SUSE, Red Hat, Rocky Linux, Ubuntu)
- Strong experience architecting and maintaining robust storage systems
- Solid understanding of HPC hardware ecosystems, including servers, GPUs, networking, storage, schedulers, BIOS, and BMC
- Experience with virtualization technologies such as VMware, Proxmox, or XCP-ng
Networking & Core Services
- Strong understanding of TCP/IP fundamentals and network protocols (DNS, DHCP, HTTP, LDAP, SMTP)
- Experience with file sharing technologies (NFS, CIFS)
- Familiarity with net boot/PXE and high-availability Linux configurations
Automation & DevOps
- Proficiency in scripting and development using Shell and Python
- Experience with configuration management tools (Ansible, Salt, Chef, Puppet)
- Strong DevOps mindset, including CI/CD pipelines and Git-based repositories
Platforms & Tools
- Experience with HPC schedulers (SGE, SLURM)
- Familiarity with web servers and traffic management (Apache, Nginx, reverse proxy, load balancing via HAProxy)
- Monitoring and observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, Nagios)
- Database experience with MySQL
Minimum Qualifications
Doctorate (Academic) Degree and related work experience of 3+ years; Master's Level Degree and related work experience of 6+ years; Bachelor's Level Degree and related work experience of 8+ years
Base Pay Range: $159,500.00 - $271,200.00 Annually
Primary Location: USA-CA-Milpitas-KLA
KLA’s total rewards package for employees may also include participation in performance incentive programs and eligibility for additional benefits including but not limited to: medical, dental, vision, life, and other voluntary benefits, 401(K) including company matching, employee stock purchase program (ESPP), student debt assistance, tuition reimbursement program, development and career growth opportunities and programs, financial planning benefits, wellness benefits including an employee assistance program (EAP), paid time off and paid company holidays, and family care and bonding leave. Interns are eligible for some of the benefits listed. Our pay ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The range displayed reflects the pay for this position in the primary location identified in this posting. Actual pay depends on several factors, including state minimum pay wage rates, location, job-related skills, experience, and relevant education level or training. We are committed to complying with all applicable federal and state minimum wage requirements where applicable. If applicable, your recruiter can share more about the specific pay range for your preferred location during the hiring process.
KLA is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We will ensure that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us at talent.acquisition@kla.com or at +1-408-352-2808 to request accommodation.
Be aware of potentially fraudulent job postings or suspicious recruiting activity by persons that are currently posing as KLA employees. KLA never asks for any financial compensation to be considered for an interview, to become an employee, or for equipment. Further, KLA does not work with any recruiters or third parties who charge such fees either directly or on behalf of KLA. Please ensure that you have searched KLA’s Careers website for legitimate job postings. KLA follows a recruiting process that involves multiple interviews in person or on video conferencing with our hiring managers. If you are concerned that a communication, an interview, an offer of employment, or that an employee is not legitimate, please send an email to talent.acquisition@kla.com to confirm the person you are communicating with is an employee. We take your privacy very seriously and confidentially handle your information.
Company Overview
KLA is a global leader in diversified electronics for the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. Virtually every electronic device in the world is produced using our technologies. No laptop, smartphone, wearable device, voice-controlled gadget, flexible screen, VR device or smart car would have made it into your hands without us. KLA invents systems and solutions for the manufacturing of wafers and reticles, integrated circuits, packaging, printed circuit boards and flat panel displays. The innovative ideas and devices that are advancing humanity all begin with inspiration, research and development. KLA focuses more than average on innovation and we invest 15% of sales back into R&D. Our expert teams of physicists, engineers, data scientists and problem-solvers work together with the world’s leading technology providers to accelerate the delivery of tomorrow’s electronic devices. Life here is exciting and our teams thrive on tackling really hard problems. There is never a dull moment with us.
Group/Division
Enabling the movement toward advanced chip design, KLA's Measurement, Analytics and Control group (MACH) is looking for the best and brightest research scientists, software engineers, application development engineers and senior product technology process engineers to join our team. The MACH team's mission is to collaborate with our customers to innovate technologies and solutions that detect and control highly complex process variations—at their source—rather than compensate for them at later stages of the manufacturing process. With over 40 years of semiconductor process control experience, chipmakers around the globe rely on KLA to ensure that their fabs ramp next-generation devices to volume production quickly and cost-effectively. Our MACH team develops leading-edge solutions for patterning process analytics and control technologies, thereby providing customers with critical insight at the feature level, field level and cross-wafer analysis. Our teams also develop advanced modeling simulation, data analytics and process control modeling technologies. As a member of the MACH team, you’ll be joining the most sophisticated and successful process-control company in the semiconductor industry—working across functions to solve the most complex technical problems in the digital age.
Role Overview
In this role, you will lead the architecture, deployment, and operational support of a high-performance computing (HPC) cluster platform used across IC fabrication facilities and mask shops globally.
You will partner with engineering stakeholders to gather requirements, design scalable solutions, and drive implementation from concept through production. This role requires a strong balance of systems architecture, hands-on engineering, and operational excellence in complex HPC environments.
Key Responsibilities
- Design and architect scalable, high-performance HPC cluster solutions for global manufacturing environments
- Lead deployment, configuration, and lifecycle management of cluster infrastructure
- Collaborate with developers and cross-functional teams to understand requirements and translate them into technical solutions
- Drive solutions from design through production, including implementation, validation, and support
- Ensure system reliability, performance, and availability across compute, storage, and networking layers
- Support ongoing operations, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement of HPC systems
- Contribute to automation, standardization, and DevOps best practices across the platform
Qualifications & Experience
Systems & Infrastructure
- Deep expertise in Linux operating systems (SUSE, Red Hat, Rocky Linux, Ubuntu)
- Strong experience architecting and maintaining robust storage systems
- Solid understanding of HPC hardware ecosystems, including servers, GPUs, networking, storage, schedulers, BIOS, and BMC
- Experience with virtualization technologies such as VMware, Proxmox, or XCP-ng
Networking & Core Services
- Strong understanding of TCP/IP fundamentals and network protocols (DNS, DHCP, HTTP, LDAP, SMTP)
- Experience with file sharing technologies (NFS, CIFS)
- Familiarity with net boot/PXE and high-availability Linux configurations
Automation & DevOps
- Proficiency in scripting and development using Shell and Python
- Experience with configuration management tools (Ansible, Salt, Chef, Puppet)
- Strong DevOps mindset, including CI/CD pipelines and Git-based repositories
Platforms & Tools
- Experience with HPC schedulers (SGE, SLURM)
- Familiarity with web servers and traffic management (Apache, Nginx, reverse proxy, load balancing via HAProxy)
- Monitoring and observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, Nagios)
- Database experience with MySQL
Minimum Qualifications
Doctorate (Academic) Degree and related work experience of 3+ years; Master's Level Degree and related work experience of 6+ years; Bachelor's Level Degree and related work experience of 8+ years
Base Pay Range: $159,500.00 - $271,200.00 Annually
Primary Location: USA-CA-Milpitas-KLA
KLA’s total rewards package for employees may also include participation in performance incentive programs and eligibility for additional benefits including but not limited to: medical, dental, vision, life, and other voluntary benefits, 401(K) including company matching, employee stock purchase program (ESPP), student debt assistance, tuition reimbursement program, development and career growth opportunities and programs, financial planning benefits, wellness benefits including an employee assistance program (EAP), paid time off and paid company holidays, and family care and bonding leave. Interns are eligible for some of the benefits listed. Our pay ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The range displayed reflects the pay for this position in the primary location identified in this posting. Actual pay depends on several factors, including state minimum pay wage rates, location, job-related skills, experience, and relevant education level or training. We are committed to complying with all applicable federal and state minimum wage requirements where applicable. If applicable, your recruiter can share more about the specific pay range for your preferred location during the hiring process.
KLA is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We will ensure that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us at talent.acquisition@kla.com or at +1-408-352-2808 to request accommodation.
Be aware of potentially fraudulent job postings or suspicious recruiting activity by persons that are currently posing as KLA employees. KLA never asks for any financial compensation to be considered for an interview, to become an employee, or for equipment. Further, KLA does not work with any recruiters or third parties who charge such fees either directly or on behalf of KLA. Please ensure that you have searched KLA’s Careers website for legitimate job postings. KLA follows a recruiting process that involves multiple interviews in person or on video conferencing with our hiring managers. If you are concerned that a communication, an interview, an offer of employment, or that an employee is not legitimate, please send an email to talent.acquisition@kla.com to confirm the person you are communicating with is an employee. We take your privacy very seriously and confidentially handle your information.
See All 18 Hpc Engineer Jobs in California
Find roles in California that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Hpc Engineer JobsHpc Engineer Jobs by City in California
Where California roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Hpc Engineer Job Market in California
A snapshot from current California openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
- NVIDIA6
- Microsoft4
- KLA2
- Cornelis Networks1
- Lam Research1
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software10
- Artificial Intelligence4
- Electronics & Hardware3
- Manufacturing3
- Education1
What California Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in hpc engineer jobs across California.
- Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, electrical engineering, or a related technical field
- Hands-on experience designing or administering large-scale HPC clusters and parallel file systems
- Proficiency in parallel programming models such as MPI, OpenMP, or CUDA
- Familiarity with job schedulers including Slurm, PBS, or equivalent workload management tools
- Experience with Linux system administration and high-speed interconnects like InfiniBand or Omni-Path
- Strong scripting ability in Python, Bash, or similar languages for automation and performance tuning
Hpc Engineer Jobs in California: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a hpc engineer in California?
Most hpc engineer roles in California require at least a bachelor's degree in computer science, electrical engineering, or a closely related field, with many research and national laboratory positions preferring a master's or doctorate. California does not issue a state license specifically for hpc engineers, so the hiring path centers on building hands-on cluster experience, earning vendor certifications in platforms like NVIDIA or Red Hat, and assembling a portfolio of parallel computing or large-scale systems projects that California employers can evaluate directly.
How much do hpc engineers make in California?
Hpc engineers in California earn a median of about $185,180 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $126,590 for the lowest 10% to over $281,210 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.
Which companies hire hpc engineers in California?
Employers hiring hpc engineers in California right now include NVIDIA, Microsoft, and KLA, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of June 2026. California's concentration of national laboratories, defense primes, and semiconductor companies means openings appear across both government-funded research sites and private industry campuses throughout the state.
Which California cities have the most hpc engineer jobs?
Santa Clara, Mountain View, and San Francisco account for the largest share of hpc engineer openings in California. The Bay Area leads because of its density of national laboratories and technology headquarters, San Diego draws hiring through defense contractors and genomics research institutions, and Los Angeles reflects demand from aerospace and entertainment technology companies running large compute environments.
Are there remote hpc engineer jobs in California?
Yes, but they're uncommon, because much of the work requires direct access to physical clusters, specialized hardware, and secure on-site environments. About 28% of hpc engineer openings tied to California are remote or hybrid as of June 2026, which is lower than typical software roles. The tasks most likely to be performed remotely are software development, job scheduler configuration, and performance analysis that do not require hands-on hardware access.
How can I get hired as a hpc engineer in California with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is through a research computing internship or student cluster operator role at one of California's university systems, where the University of California campuses and California State University campuses regularly bring on junior staff to support research computing infrastructure. Adjacent roles such as Linux systems administrator, research computing support specialist, and data center technician provide hands-on exposure that California employers recognize as a credible bridge. Completing a parallel computing project on a public cloud HPC environment and earning a Red Hat or NVIDIA certification strengthens a candidate's profile considerably for first roles.
Where can I find and apply to hpc engineer jobs in California?
You can find and apply to hpc engineer jobs in California on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings tied to California locations. Search the listings for roles that match your experience level and specialization, then apply directly to the ones that fit.
See All 18 Hpc Engineer Jobs in California
Find roles in California that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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