Who We Are
Applied Materials is a global leader in materials engineering solutions used to produce virtually every new chip and advanced display in the world. We design, build and service cutting-edge equipment that helps our customers manufacture display and semiconductor chips – the brains of devices we use every day. As the foundation of the global electronics industry, Applied enables the exciting technologies that literally connect our world – like AI and IoT. If you want to push the boundaries of materials science and engineering to create next generation technology, join us to deliver material innovation that changes the world.
What We Offer
Salary:
$156,000.00 - $214,500.00
Location:
Austin,TX, Salt Lake City,UT, Santa Clara,CA, Tempe,AZ
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.
At Applied Materials, we care about the health and wellbeing of our employees. We’re committed to providing programs and support that encourage personal and professional growth and care for you at work, at home, or wherever you may go. Learn more about our benefits.
As a Software Engineer at Applied Materials, you’ll dive deep into ground-breaking technologies—like machine learning and AI—to craft novel software solutions that solve our customers’ high-value problems. Our Software Engineers are responsible for designing, prototyping, developing, and debugging software solutions for semiconductor equipment components and devices to ensure quality and functionality. You'll develop software documentation and test procedures, troubleshoot software problems, and communicate with internal customers to understand project requirements. As part of our team, you'll contribute your expertise in intricate systems, deciphering code, and anticipating software behaviors to ensure Applied remains the leader in the semiconductor and display sectors.
Role Overview
The UX Engineer is a hybrid, high-impact role that bridges the disciplines of user experience design, front-end engineering, and full-stack development. This role is responsible for transforming user-centered design concepts into scalable, production-ready digital experiences while ensuring consistency, usability, and performance across enterprise applications.
Operating at the intersection of design and engineering, the UX Engineer plays a critical leadership role in driving the adoption of design thinking methodologies within UI development teams. This includes championing user-centered design principles, facilitating collaboration between designers and engineers, and ensuring rigorous adherence to established design systems, UI kits, and component standards.
This role is particularly critical in complex enterprise environments where usability, scalability, and consistency directly impact user efficiency, product adoption, and business outcomes.
Key Responsibilities
1. UX-Driven Engineering Execution
- Translate UX research insights, interaction designs, and visual specifications into high-quality, performant, and scalable front-end implementations.
- Develop and maintain reusable UI components aligned with the organization’s design system and UI kit standards.
- Contribute to full-stack development efforts where needed, ensuring seamless integration between front-end experiences and backend services.
- Optimize applications for usability, accessibility (WCAG compliance), responsiveness, and performance.
2. Design System Governance & Adoption
- Serve as a primary steward of the organization’s design system, ensuring consistent implementation across all products and platforms.
- Enforce adherence to UI kit standards, including typography, color systems, spacing, tokens, and component usage.
- Partner with UX designers to evolve and scale the design system, translating design artifacts into coded components and documentation.
- Establish best practices for design-to-code workflows, including tooling such as Figma Dev Mode, design tokens, and component libraries.
3. UI Developer Leadership & Enablement
- Lead and mentor UI Developers in adopting design thinking methodologies and user-centered design practices.
- Provide technical and UX guidance to ensure UI implementations align with intended user experiences.
- Conduct design and code reviews to ensure fidelity to UX specifications and adherence to design system standards.
- Develop training materials, workshops, and onboarding programs to elevate UI development maturity across the organization.
- Act as a bridge between UX Design, Product Management, and Engineering teams to align priorities and execution.
4. Design Thinking Advocacy
- Champion design thinking principles across engineering teams, embedding practices such as empathy mapping, journey mapping, and iterative prototyping.
- Collaborate in UX research activities, including user interviews, usability testing, and synthesis of insights.
- Advocate for early and continuous user validation throughout the development lifecycle.
- Encourage a culture of experimentation, rapid prototyping, and data-driven design decisions.
5. Prototyping & Rapid Iteration
- Build high-fidelity prototypes and interactive proof-of-concepts to validate concepts before full-scale development.
- Leverage modern frameworks (e.g., React, Angular, Vue, Native Mobile) to create dynamic prototypes that closely mirror production environments.
- Accelerate design-to-development cycles through automation, reusable patterns, and AI-assisted workflows where applicable.
6. Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner closely with UX Designers to ensure seamless translation of design intent into functional interfaces.
- Collaborate with Product Managers to align UX strategy with business goals and user needs.
- Work with backend engineers to ensure API design and system architecture support optimal user experiences.
- Engage with stakeholders to communicate design rationale, technical constraints, and implementation strategies.
7. Quality, Accessibility & Continuous Improvement
- Establish and enforce front-end quality standards, including code quality, testing, and maintainability.
- Ensure accessibility compliance and advocate for inclusive design practices.
- Identify opportunities to improve workflows, tooling, and processes related to UX and UI engineering.
- Continuously evaluate emerging technologies and methodologies to enhance efficiency and product quality.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, Design, or related field.
- 8+ years of experience in front-end or full-stack development with strong UX/UI collaboration.
- Demonstrated expertise in modern front-end technologies (HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, React or similar frameworks).
- Solid understanding of UX design principles, including interaction design, usability, and information architecture.
- Experience working with design systems, component libraries, and design tokens.
- Strong proficiency in translating design tools (e.g., Figma) into production code.
- Experience collaborating in cross-functional agile teams.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience leading full-stack front-end design and coding activities in enterprise software development.
- Familiarity with enterprise-scale applications or complex system design in semiconductor or equivalent high-tech industries.
- Background in building or scaling design systems in large organizations.
- Knowledge of backend technologies and APIs (Node.js, Python, etc.).
- Experience with AI-assisted development or design-to-code tooling.
Core Competencies
1. Hybrid Design + Engineering Expertise
Ability to operate fluently across both UX design and UI development domains, translating between disciplines without loss of fidelity.
2. Design System Leadership
Deep understanding of design systems as scalable frameworks, with the ability to enforce consistency while enabling flexibility.
3. Mentorship & Influence
Proven ability to guide UI developers and engineers toward higher UX maturity through coaching, training, and example-setting.
4. Strategic Thinking
Ability to align UX and engineering efforts with broader product and business goals, particularly in enterprise environments.
5. Collaboration & Communication
Strong interpersonal skills to bridge gaps between design, engineering, and product teams, ensuring alignment and shared understanding.
Impact of the Role
The UX Engineer plays a pivotal role in transforming how digital products are built by emphasizing reuse, leveraging common UI patterns, and structuring UI Kits for generative AI readiness. By embedding design thinking into engineering workflows and enforcing strict