OPT Hpc Engineer Jobs
HPC Engineer jobs are a strong fit for F-1 OPT students with backgrounds in computer science, computational science, or engineering. Employers in national labs, research universities, and tech firms regularly hire for these roles, and the work typically qualifies for the 24-month STEM OPT extension.
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Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
To make electronics, you need chips, wafers, transistors, reticles, and... To make these, you must see, test and manufacture them at scale—faster and better than ever before. That's where KLA comes in. Whether you're early in your career or an experienced professional, you'll solve complex challenges, work alongside brilliant minds and help shape the future of technology.
Group/Division
The Semiconductor Products and Customers (Semi PC) business unit designs, builds and sells KLA’s product portfolio to help chip manufacturers meet high-quality standards for technologies like AI, data centers, automotive and electronic devices. Our inspection, metrology, and analytics systems detect and monitor defects across logic and memory chips, specialty semiconductors, wafers, reticles, advanced packaging, process equipment and materials. We also develop technologies for specialty processes, IC substrates, and PCB manufacturing, including etch and deposition, component inspection, and imaging and analytics. The e-Beam division plays a critical role in KLA’s inspection ecosystem, with tools that deliver high-resolution, timely insights into defects and critical locations on the wafer. Used alongside KLA’s patterned and bare wafer inspectors, e-Beam systems help our customers quickly identify and understand yield-impacting issues—enabling faster, more effective actions to correct the manufacturing process.
In this role, you will play a key part in advancing business priorities by delivering high-impact work across your area of expertise. KLA’s EBeam products serve as the sharpest eyes in our inspection portfolio, delivering ultra-high-resolution insights into defects and critical wafer locations with unmatched precision. As a key complement to KLA’s patterned and bare wafer inspection systems, EBeam technology enables customers to rapidly identify, analyze, and resolve manufacturing issues that directly impact yield and performance. Behind these industry-leading systems is a powerful High-Performance Computing (HPC) infrastructure. We are seeking a highly skilled engineer to architect, develop, deploy, and support scalable Kubernetes environments on Linux-based HPC platforms. This role sits at the intersection of Linux systems engineering, networking, Kubernetes orchestration, and advanced compute infrastructure, helping drive the performance and reliability of next-generation semiconductor inspection solutions.
Responsibilities
In this exciting role, you will:
- Architect, deploy, and support Kubernetes clusters running on enterprise Linux platforms across HPC environments.
- Design, configure, and optimize Linux-based compute infrastructure with a focus on scalability, performance, reliability, and automation.
- Lead networking architecture and troubleshooting across servers, switches, storage systems, and Kubernetes environments, ensuring high availability and low-latency communication.
- Support high-performance compute clusters consisting of cutting-edge CPU and GPU technologies.
- Configure and maintain Linux operating systems including Red Hat, Rocky Linux, Ubuntu, and SUSE.
- Develop and automate infrastructure deployment, provisioning, and lifecycle management using scripting and configuration management tools.
- Collaborate with hardware vendors to define, validate, and release computer, networking, and storage solutions.
- Generate hardware BOMs and lead infrastructure qualification, release, and deployment activities.
- Support scalable storage architectures and high-bandwidth interconnect technologies critical to HPC workloads.
- Create and maintain golden images, deployment procedures, automation scripts, and technical documentation for manufacturing and customer support organizations.
- Ensure system designs meet performance, availability, and scalability requirements while driving projects to successful completion.
Required Qualifications
- Deep expertise administering and troubleshooting enterprise Linux environments (Red Hat, Rocky Linux, Ubuntu, SUSE).
- Strong hands-on experience designing, deploying, and maintaining Kubernetes clusters in production environments.
- Deep understanding of networking fundamentals, including TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, HTTP, LDAP, SMTP, routing, switching, and network troubleshooting.
- Experience working with server networking infrastructure, high-speed interconnects, and external switching environments.
- Strong knowledge of HPC architectures, including compute servers, GPU platforms, storage systems, BIOS/BMC technologies, and cluster infrastructure.
- Experience with Linux services and technologies including SystemD, PXE/NetBoot, Linux High Availability, and system automation.
- Experience supporting scalable and resilient storage platforms in HPC or data center environments.
- Proficiency in Shell and Python scripting for automation, deployment, and operational support.
- Experience with Infrastructure as Code and configuration management tools such as Ansible (preferred), Salt, Chef, or Puppet.
- Experience supporting containerized workloads and cloud-native infrastructure is highly preferred.
Preferred Background
- Experience building and supporting Kubernetes platforms for HPC, AI/ML, or GPU-intensive workloads.
- Familiarity with cloud-based compute architectures and hybrid infrastructure environments.
- Experience optimizing networking and storage performance for large-scale distributed compute systems.
Minimum Qualifications
Doctorate (Academic) Degree and 0 years related work experience; Master's Level Degree and related work experience of 3 years; Bachelor's Level Degree and related work experience of 5 years.
About KLA
We provide advanced inspection tools, metrology systems, process solutions, and computational analytics that make electronics possible, tackling complex challenges. From electron and photon optics to machine learning and data analytics, we seek perfection at the most fundamental level of matter in the universe. If you want to make electronics that push industries forward and make the world a better place, join us.
Total Rewards
Base Pay Range: $136,300.00 - $199,900.00 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.
Use of AI Statement
At KLA, our interviews seek to understand your individual skills, problem-solving approach and authentic thinking. To ensure a fair and consistent evaluation, the use of AI, recording tools or other technologies to generate, suggest or provide responses during interviews—whether virtual or in person—is not permitted unless explicitly approved in advance as part of a reasonable accommodation or invited by the interviewer. Use of these tools may interfere with our ability to evaluate your individual qualifications and affect your candidacy. KLA is committed to advancing innovation through responsible AI, and we value candidates who share this mindset.
Equal Opportunity Statement
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. For additional information, view the US Know Your Rights poster on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website.
INTRODUCTION
To make electronics, you need chips, wafers, transistors, reticles, and... To make these, you must see, test and manufacture them at scale—faster and better than ever before. That's where KLA comes in. Whether you're early in your career or an experienced professional, you'll solve complex challenges, work alongside brilliant minds and help shape the future of technology.
Group/Division
The Semiconductor Products and Customers (Semi PC) business unit designs, builds and sells KLA’s product portfolio to help chip manufacturers meet high-quality standards for technologies like AI, data centers, automotive and electronic devices. Our inspection, metrology, and analytics systems detect and monitor defects across logic and memory chips, specialty semiconductors, wafers, reticles, advanced packaging, process equipment and materials. We also develop technologies for specialty processes, IC substrates, and PCB manufacturing, including etch and deposition, component inspection, and imaging and analytics. The e-Beam division plays a critical role in KLA’s inspection ecosystem, with tools that deliver high-resolution, timely insights into defects and critical locations on the wafer. Used alongside KLA’s patterned and bare wafer inspectors, e-Beam systems help our customers quickly identify and understand yield-impacting issues—enabling faster, more effective actions to correct the manufacturing process.
In this role, you will play a key part in advancing business priorities by delivering high-impact work across your area of expertise. KLA’s EBeam products serve as the sharpest eyes in our inspection portfolio, delivering ultra-high-resolution insights into defects and critical wafer locations with unmatched precision. As a key complement to KLA’s patterned and bare wafer inspection systems, EBeam technology enables customers to rapidly identify, analyze, and resolve manufacturing issues that directly impact yield and performance. Behind these industry-leading systems is a powerful High-Performance Computing (HPC) infrastructure. We are seeking a highly skilled engineer to architect, develop, deploy, and support scalable Kubernetes environments on Linux-based HPC platforms. This role sits at the intersection of Linux systems engineering, networking, Kubernetes orchestration, and advanced compute infrastructure, helping drive the performance and reliability of next-generation semiconductor inspection solutions.
Responsibilities
In this exciting role, you will:
- Architect, deploy, and support Kubernetes clusters running on enterprise Linux platforms across HPC environments.
- Design, configure, and optimize Linux-based compute infrastructure with a focus on scalability, performance, reliability, and automation.
- Lead networking architecture and troubleshooting across servers, switches, storage systems, and Kubernetes environments, ensuring high availability and low-latency communication.
- Support high-performance compute clusters consisting of cutting-edge CPU and GPU technologies.
- Configure and maintain Linux operating systems including Red Hat, Rocky Linux, Ubuntu, and SUSE.
- Develop and automate infrastructure deployment, provisioning, and lifecycle management using scripting and configuration management tools.
- Collaborate with hardware vendors to define, validate, and release computer, networking, and storage solutions.
- Generate hardware BOMs and lead infrastructure qualification, release, and deployment activities.
- Support scalable storage architectures and high-bandwidth interconnect technologies critical to HPC workloads.
- Create and maintain golden images, deployment procedures, automation scripts, and technical documentation for manufacturing and customer support organizations.
- Ensure system designs meet performance, availability, and scalability requirements while driving projects to successful completion.
Required Qualifications
- Deep expertise administering and troubleshooting enterprise Linux environments (Red Hat, Rocky Linux, Ubuntu, SUSE).
- Strong hands-on experience designing, deploying, and maintaining Kubernetes clusters in production environments.
- Deep understanding of networking fundamentals, including TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, HTTP, LDAP, SMTP, routing, switching, and network troubleshooting.
- Experience working with server networking infrastructure, high-speed interconnects, and external switching environments.
- Strong knowledge of HPC architectures, including compute servers, GPU platforms, storage systems, BIOS/BMC technologies, and cluster infrastructure.
- Experience with Linux services and technologies including SystemD, PXE/NetBoot, Linux High Availability, and system automation.
- Experience supporting scalable and resilient storage platforms in HPC or data center environments.
- Proficiency in Shell and Python scripting for automation, deployment, and operational support.
- Experience with Infrastructure as Code and configuration management tools such as Ansible (preferred), Salt, Chef, or Puppet.
- Experience supporting containerized workloads and cloud-native infrastructure is highly preferred.
Preferred Background
- Experience building and supporting Kubernetes platforms for HPC, AI/ML, or GPU-intensive workloads.
- Familiarity with cloud-based compute architectures and hybrid infrastructure environments.
- Experience optimizing networking and storage performance for large-scale distributed compute systems.
Minimum Qualifications
Doctorate (Academic) Degree and 0 years related work experience; Master's Level Degree and related work experience of 3 years; Bachelor's Level Degree and related work experience of 5 years.
About KLA
We provide advanced inspection tools, metrology systems, process solutions, and computational analytics that make electronics possible, tackling complex challenges. From electron and photon optics to machine learning and data analytics, we seek perfection at the most fundamental level of matter in the universe. If you want to make electronics that push industries forward and make the world a better place, join us.
Total Rewards
Base Pay Range: $136,300.00 - $199,900.00 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.
Use of AI Statement
At KLA, our interviews seek to understand your individual skills, problem-solving approach and authentic thinking. To ensure a fair and consistent evaluation, the use of AI, recording tools or other technologies to generate, suggest or provide responses during interviews—whether virtual or in person—is not permitted unless explicitly approved in advance as part of a reasonable accommodation or invited by the interviewer. Use of these tools may interfere with our ability to evaluate your individual qualifications and affect your candidacy. KLA is committed to advancing innovation through responsible AI, and we value candidates who share this mindset.
Equal Opportunity Statement
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. For additional information, view the US Know Your Rights poster on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website.
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding OPT Sponsorship as a Hpc Engineer
Confirm your degree qualifies for STEM OPT
HPC roles almost always require a degree in computer science, electrical engineering, or a related STEM field. Verify your program appears on the official STEM Designated Degree Program list before applying, so you can offer employers a 24-month authorization window.
Target employers with established OPT infrastructure
National laboratories, defense contractors, and research-intensive universities hire HPC engineers regularly and typically have HR teams experienced with OPT and E-Verify compliance. These organizations are less likely to pass on a strong candidate due to authorization uncertainty.
Lead with technical depth, not visa status
HPC hiring managers prioritize parallel computing skills, MPI, OpenMP, and performance profiling experience. Get your technical qualifications in front of them first. Visa status conversations go more smoothly when the employer is already convinced you're the right person for the role.
Know your OPT end date and plan your timeline
HPC positions often involve lengthy hiring processes with technical screens and team interviews. Start your job search at least four months before your OPT expires so authorization deadlines don't pressure you into accepting a role that isn't the right fit.
Highlight projects that demonstrate scale
Employers want evidence you've worked on compute-intensive problems. Quantify your contributions: cluster sizes, speedup ratios, job throughput improvements. Research projects, thesis work, and internships all count. Concrete performance metrics make your resume stand out against candidates without HPC-specific experience.
Understand E-Verify requirements before you start
STEM OPT employers must be enrolled in E-Verify before your extension begins. Confirm this early in the offer stage, not after you've signed. If an employer isn't enrolled, they'll need to complete enrollment before your start date or you cannot legally work.
Hpc Engineer OPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Do HPC Engineer jobs qualify for the 24-month STEM OPT extension?
Yes, in most cases. HPC engineering roles typically fall under computer science, electrical engineering, or computational science degree programs, most of which appear on the STEM Designated Degree Program list. If your specific program is listed, you're eligible to apply for the 24-month STEM OPT extension through your DSO, giving you up to three years of total OPT work authorization.
What types of employers hire HPC engineers on OPT?
National laboratories such as Argonne, Lawrence Berkeley, and Oak Ridge, along with research universities and defense contractors, are among the most consistent hirers of HPC engineers and have experience navigating OPT authorization. Large tech companies with infrastructure or AI research divisions also hire for these roles. You can browse OPT-friendly HPC Engineer openings directly on Migrate Mate, which filters for employers open to F-1 students.
Can I work on classified HPC projects as an F-1 OPT student?
Generally, no. Most classified projects at national labs and defense contractors require a U.S. security clearance, which F-1 OPT students are not eligible to hold. However, many national laboratories and defense-adjacent employers also run unclassified HPC research programs that are open to international students. Focus your applications on open research divisions or industry teams not tied to classified work.
What technical skills strengthen an HPC Engineer's OPT job application?
Proficiency in MPI, OpenMP, CUDA, or OpenCL is expected for most HPC roles. Experience with job schedulers like Slurm or PBS, performance profiling tools such as VTune or TAU, and familiarity with large-scale storage systems all add significant weight. Employers hiring on OPT want candidates who can contribute immediately, so documented project experience on high-performance clusters is more persuasive than coursework descriptions alone.
How do I handle the OPT authorization gap if my job search takes longer than expected?
F-1 students are allowed up to 90 days of unemployment during standard OPT and up to 150 days during the STEM OPT extension. If your search is running long, prioritize roles at employers already enrolled in E-Verify, since that removes one potential delay from the hiring process. Stay in close contact with your DSO to monitor your unemployment days and explore whether a cap-exempt H-1B visa or other status change may be appropriate if authorization is close to expiring.