Service Engineer Demo Tools

About Nearfield Instruments

Nearfield Instruments is a fast-growing high-tech scale-up developing advanced metrology systems for the semiconductor industry.

Our QUADRA platform combines high-speed Atomic Force Microscopy with advanced mechatronics, software, and control technology. It enables semiconductor manufacturers to measure increasingly complex three-dimensional structures with sub-nanometer accuracy and at the speed required for advanced chip manufacturing.

From our headquarters in Rotterdam, our teams design, build, test, demonstrate, and continuously improve our systems. As our number of demonstration tools and development activities grows, we are strengthening the team responsible for keeping these systems available and performing at their best.

About the role

As Service Engineer Demo Tools, you ensure that our QUADRA demonstration systems in Rotterdam are ready for customer demonstrations, application development, and hardware and software validation.

You will be part of the Demo Support Team, which owns the operational condition, availability, and planning of the demo tools. You monitor system health, perform preventive and corrective maintenance, troubleshoot technical issues, coordinate tool usage, and maintain ownership of escalations until problems are resolved.

This is a hands-on role in which you work directly with highly complex mechatronic equipment. You will support the engineers using the systems, understand their planned activities, and make sure the tools can deliver the required performance.

You will work closely with Application Engineering, Product Marketing, Customer Support, System Engineering, R&D, and Design & Engineering. Together, these teams demonstrate the capabilities of QUADRA to customers and use the demo systems to validate new product developments.

What you will do

• Perform daily system health checks and monitor the condition and performance of the demo tools.

• Keep QUADRA systems available for customer demonstrations, application development, and hardware and software validation.

• Coordinate the planning and scheduling of tool usage with internal users and stakeholders.

• Plan and perform preventive and corrective maintenance.

• Act as the first point of contact when technical issues or system alarms occur.

• Troubleshoot electrical, mechanical, mechatronic, hardware, and system-level issues.

• Escalate complex problems to System Engineering, R&D, or Design & Engineering, while retaining ownership through resolution.

• Support Application Engineering and development teams during measurement, testing, and validation activities.

• Coordinate service activities with tool users to minimize disruption to planned work.

• Communicate system status, technical risks, priorities, and expected availability to relevant stakeholders.

• Document maintenance activities, technical findings, solutions, and recurring issues.

• Contribute to root-cause investigations and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Provide practical feedback to improve the reliability, serviceability, and performance of QUADRA.

• Help develop more structured and scalable ways of supporting a growing number of demo tools.

• Occasionally travel to support customer tools when needed.

What you bring

• A bachelor's degree in mechatronics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, applied physics, or a related technical field.

• Relevant experience maintaining, servicing, installing, or troubleshooting complex technical equipment.

• Strong hands-on troubleshooting skills and the ability to approach technical problems in a structured way.

• Experience with advanced mechatronic systems, precision equipment, semiconductor equipment, or high-tech machinery.

• The ability to read and work with technical documentation, procedures, schematics, and service instructions.

• Experience performing preventive and corrective maintenance.

• The ability to work independently, manage priorities, and take ownership from issue identification through closure.

• Strong stakeholder management and clear, proactive communication skills.

• Good written and spoken English.

Experience with semiconductor manufacturing equipment, metrology systems, vacuum technology, motion control, robotics, precision mechanics, or cleanroom environments would be an advantage. Previous experience as a customer service engineer or field service engineer for an equipment manufacturer is preferred but not essential. Experience with medical devices or other complex high-tech equipment may also be relevant, particularly in a customer-facing environment.

How you work

• You take ownership of technical issues from identification through resolution.

• You remain structured and practical when priorities change or unexpected issues arise.

• You pay close attention to detail and understand that small deviations can affect system performance.

• You communicate clearly with engineers and stakeholders from different technical disciplines.

• You know when to troubleshoot independently and when to involve additional expertise.

• You are curious and motivated to learn new technologies.

• You learn from mistakes and use those lessons to prevent issues from recurring.

• You enjoy working in a scale-up environment where processes and responsibilities continue to develop.

• You contribute as a team member while remaining accountable for your own work.

Why this role is interesting

You will work directly with some of the most advanced metrology technology used in semiconductor manufacturing. The demo tools play an important role in customer demonstrations, application development, and the validation of new hardware and software.

Because the tools are used by different technical teams, you will gain broad exposure to the complete system and work closely with specialists across the organization. You will see how service, applications, engineering, and product development come together around a complex machine.

No two days will be the same. One day you may be preparing a system for an important customer demonstration; the next, you may be troubleshooting an unexpected technical issue or supporting the validation of a new product improvement.

This is an opportunity to deepen your technical expertise, develop broad system knowledge, and contribute directly to the performance and further development of QUADRA.