Overview:
The Staff Engineer operates with substantial autonomy in technical decision-making and is expected to exercise judgment equivalent to that of a senior technical manager, without direct people management responsibilities. Key dimensions of scope:
-
Technical Authority: Final internal escalation point for electro-mechanical and application-level issues on all BNS instruments in the China region.
-
Impact Radius: Directly influences customer productivity at major accounts across semiconductor, materials science, academic research, and government/defense sectors.
-
Cross-Functional Influence: Partners with Product Management, R&D, Sales, and Customer Success to drive instrument improvements, new feature adoption, and customer satisfaction.
-
Process Ownership: Leads or co-leads the development of technical standards, SOPs, and application frameworks used by the broader China service team.
-
Strategic Contribution: Contributes to the BNS China technology roadmap by synthesizing field intelligence and customer requirements into actionable insights for R&D and product management.
Responsibilities:
-
Serve as the senior application authority for all BNS instrumentation, with particular depth in AFM and Nano Indentation systems.
-
Develop, optimize, and document complex customer-specific application protocols — establishing standards that are adopted across the service organization.
-
Lead proof-of-concept demonstrations on non-standard, challenging samples for prospective and existing customers, often involving novel experimental design.
-
Produce high-quality application notes, technical reports, and user/applications training materials that elevate the technical brand of BNS in China.
-
Evaluate and qualify new instrument accessories, software modules, and application workflows prior to customer deployment.
-
Own the most complex electro-mechanical and software instrument issues: diagnose root causes across hardware, firmware, control systems, and application software stacks.
-
Design and execute structured troubleshooting protocols; document solutions and feed lessons learned back into team knowledge bases.
-
Provide remote and on-site advanced support for issues that exceed standard service engineer escalation thresholds.
-
Design and deliver advanced training programs for customers and internal engineers — covering theory of operation, advanced applications, and best-practice workflows.
-
Act as technical coach and mentor to junior and senior field engineers within the China service organization.
-
Lead customer technical review meetings and present findings to audiences ranging from lab technicians to C-level executives.
-
Lead or participate in cross-functional projects to improve service efficiency, instrument reliability reporting, or customer onboarding workflows.
-
Collect and synthesize field observations into structured inputs for BNS product management and R&D roadmapping cycles.
-
Contribute to the development and continuous improvement of BNS China's technical service standards and methodologies.
Qualifications:
-
Advanced theoretical understanding of scanning probe microscopy (AFM in particular), nano-mechanics, and surface characterization science.
-
Deep working knowledge of electronics, precision mechanics, vacuum systems, control systems, and embedded software as applied to high-performance analytical instruments.
-
Familiarity with applicable international and Chinese standards for instrument calibration, metrology, and safety (e.g., ISO, IEC, national standards relevant to surface analysis).
-
Proven ability to install, commission, and qualify complex electro-mechanical instrumentation.
-
Expert proficiency with diagnostic tools: oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, multimeters, lock-in amplifiers, and equivalent precision measurement equipment.
-
Demonstrated experience with data analysis software (Python, MATLAB, or equivalent) for instrument signal processing and applications development.
-
Strong presentation and technical writing skills; ability to produce professional application notes, SOPs, and customer-facing technical reports in English and Chinese.
-
Exceptional analytical reasoning: ability to decompose complex multi-variable instrument issues into tractable hypotheses and test them systematically.
-
Skilled technical communicator: adapts depth and style for audiences ranging from PhD researchers to manufacturing floor operators.
-
Proven ability to manage multiple complex customer engagements simultaneously with minimal supervision.
-
Demonstrated project ownership: plans, communicates, implements, and delivers results on time with measurable outcomes.
-
Collaborative leadership: comfortable driving cross-functional technical initiatives without formal authority.
