Senior Product Owner – PALMS (Process & Analytical Lab Management System)

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:

$176,000.00 - $242,000.00

Location:

Santa Clara,CA

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 Systems Engineer, you’ll design, integrate, and optimize complex systems that drive the semiconductor industry forward. Your expertise in systems thinking and problem-solving is essential as you collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop advanced solutions to intricate processes and writing system specifications. You’ll be responsible for analyzing requirements, defining system architectures, conducting thorough testing, and ensuring seamless integration of subsystems. Additionally, you’ll identify and mitigate risks, confirming that our systems meet the highest quality standards and exceed customer expectations.

Position Summary

Applied Materials is seeking a highly experienced Senior Product Owner to lead the strategy, roadmap, development and adoption of the Process & Analytical Lab Management System (PALMS).

PALMS is a strategic enterprise platform that digitizes laboratory operations, manages analytical sample workflows, and serves as the system of record for analytical lab execution across Applied Materials' global laboratory ecosystem.

The Senior Product owner will drive the long-term vision of PALMS, define investment priorities, and lead cross-functional execution across Laboratory Operations, GIS, and Business Units. The role requires balancing business transformation, operational excellence, platform scalability, and user experience while enabling the migration of legacy laboratory processes into a unified digital ecosystem.

This leader will be accountable for development, product strategy, adoption, and roadmap execution across multiple global laboratories.

Key Responsibilities

Product Strategy & Business Leadership

• Own the enterprise strategy and multi-year vision for PALMS.
• Develop and execute a global roadmap aligned with Applied Materials' laboratory digitization strategy.
• Build business cases and investment proposals for new capabilities, global deployments, and platform expansion.
• Serve as the champion for PALMS across business, engineering, and operational organizations.
• Drive product decisions based on ROI, business impact, customer value, and strategic alignment.

Product Portfolio Ownership

• Own end-to-end product lifecycle management from concept through deployment and operational maturity.
• Define roadmap priorities and investment allocations
• Balance strategic innovation, customer commitments, operational requirements, and technical debt reduction.

Global Laboratory Transformation

• Lead migration from legacy laboratory systems into PALMS.
• Drive standardization of analytical laboratory workflows across regions and business units.
• Partner with lab managers and operational leaders to optimize laboratory execution models.

Enterprise Platform & Integration Strategy

Own product strategy for integration of PALMS with the broader laboratory application ecosystem

Customer & Stakeholder Leadership

• Partner with senior leaders across GIS, Lab Operations, and Business Units.
• Translate customer pain points into strategic product initiatives.
• Facilitate roadmap reviews, executive updates, quarterly business reviews, and investment discussions.
• Advocate for customer needs while balancing enterprise priorities.

Operational Excellence & Service Management

• Establish operational governance and support models for a business-critical enterprise platform.
• Drive system reliability, scalability, security, compliance, and support readiness.
• Partner with support teams to define service-level expectations and operational processes.
• Monitor platform health, incident trends, adoption metrics, and customer satisfaction.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to improve platform performance and usability.

Data, Analytics & Business Outcomes

• Define product success metrics and operational KPIs.
• Use data-driven insights to guide roadmap investment and product decisions.

Leadership & Influence

• Lead without direct authority across multiple organizations and functions.
• Influence senior executives and stakeholders across business and technology organizations.
• Drive alignment among competing priorities and organizational objectives.

Required Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Operations, Information Systems, or related discipline. MBA or advanced technical degree preferred.

Experience

• 10+ years of product management, program management, digital transformation, or enterprise platform leadership experience.
• Experience managing products with multiple stakeholder groups and complex operational workflows.
• Demonstrated success driving business process transformation initiatives.
• Experience leading cross-functional global programs.

Preferred Experience

• Semiconductor industry experience.
• Metrology and analytical laboratory operations.
• Enterprise integrations and API-based architecture.
• AI-enabled workflow automation and digital transformation initiatives.

Critical Success Metrics

The Senior Product owner will be measured on:

Product Adoption

• Growth in active user adoption.
• Global laboratory onboarding success.
• Legacy system migration progress.

Platform Health

• System availability and reliability.
• Operational support effectiveness.
• Customer satisfaction.

Delivery Excellence

• Roadmap execution against commitments.
• Feature adoption and business impact.
• Integration delivery success.

Additional Information

Time Type:

Full time

Employee Type:

Assignee / Regular

Travel:

Yes, 10% of the Time

Relocation Eligible:

Yes

The salary offered to a selected candidate will be based on multiple factors including location, hire grade, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and with consideration of internal equity of our current team members. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, candidates may be eligible for other forms of compensation such as participation in a bonus and a stock award program, as applicable.

For all sales roles, the posted salary range is the Target Total Cash (TTC) range for the role, which is the sum of base salary and target bonus amount at 100% goal achievement.

Applied Materials is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law.

In addition, Applied endeavors to make our careers site accessible to all users. If you would like to contact us regarding accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact us via e-mail at [email protected], or by calling our HR Direct Help Line at 877-612-7547, option 1, and following the prompts to speak to an HR Advisor. This contact is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.