Anonymous - Applications Development Engineer KLA Employee Review

2.0
Jul 14, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Semi-structured training program for new hires - Catered meals - Complimentary Starbucks coffee - Reimburses cell phone minutes (but not data plan) - New hires have a personal meeting with the CEO - I joined because of my specific manager. Certain people are a pleasure to work with and are beneficial to your personal growth.

Cons

- High turnover rate - Poor quality work life balance, and you often have to depend on your fellow colleagues' discipline/efficiency as well as book limited laboratory time, but often can't plan too far in advance due to multiple last minute changes in schedule outside of your control - Approx 50% travel with many last-minute changes in travel dates make it hard to schedule your own personal life - Verbally abusive colleagues, especially many stingy technical leads and managers with poor management skills that threaten the employees on Visas about their job security - The bump in title to technical lead might not come with a salary bump depending on your negotiating skills

Explore other reviews about KLA

5.0
Jun 10, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Strong technical depth and industry leadership. Talented colleagues and meaningful work.

Cons

Organizational processes can be relatively conservative. The skills developed are highly valuable within semiconductor equipment and imaging-related industries but may be less directly transferable to unrelated sectors.

1.0
May 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

If you’re looking for a place where accountability doesn’t exist and you can do the bare minimum while getting paid maximum overtime, this is your spot. No approval needed, no questions asked—just stay late, watch YouTube, and collect your paycheck (plus free food if you linger long enough). Weekends are basically a free-for-all since the people who are supposed to supervise are either absent or the worst offenders.

Cons

This place is what happens when a parent company buys a smaller one and then completely forgets it exists. There is zero meaningful oversight. Management knows exactly what’s going on—they just don’t care as long as quotas are eventually met. Efficiency, integrity, and actual productivity mean nothing here. Documentation is either nonexistent or completely useless, full of errors and missing critical information. Parts are constantly missing, and instead of fixing the system, people exploit it to justify delays and stretch their hours. The entire operation rewards time-wasting over competence. The culture actively punishes anyone who tries to work a normal, honest 8-hour day. Want recognition or a raise? Better start padding your hours. The more time you burn, the more management “appreciates” you. It’s not about results—it’s about how long you can pretend to be working. Managers, being salaried, conveniently disappear when it matters most—nights and weekends—while turning a blind eye to the dysfunction they fully understand. Leadership isn’t absent by accident; it’s absent by choice.

3
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