Content Ontologist

KLA is a global leader in diversified electronics for the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. Virtually every electronic device in the world is produced using our technologies. No laptop, smartphone, wearable device, voice-controlled gadget, flexible screen, VR device or smart car would have made it into your hands without us. KLA invents systems and solutions for the manufacturing of wafers and reticles, integrated circuits, packaging, printed circuit boards and flat panel displays. The innovative ideas and devices that are advancing humanity all begin with inspiration, research and development. KLA focuses more than average on innovation and we invest 15% of sales back into R&D. Our expert teams of physicists, engineers, data scientists and problem-solvers work together with the world’s leading technology providers to accelerate the delivery of tomorrow’s electronic devices. Life here is exciting and our teams thrive on tackling really hard problems. There is never a dull moment with us.

The KLA Services team headquartered in Milpitas, CA is our service organization that consists of Service Sales and Marketing, Spares Supply Chain management, Field Operations, Engineering, Product Training, and Technical Support. The KLA Services organization partners with our field teams and customers in all business sectors to maintain the high performance and productivity of our products through a flexible portfolio of services. Our comprehensive services include: proactive management of tools to identify and improve performance; expertise in optics, image processing and motion control with worldwide service engineers, 24/7 technical support teams and knowledge management systems; and an extensive parts network to ensure worldwide availability of parts.

Job Description/Preferred Qualifications

We’re seeking a seasoned Content Ontologist to design and govern the semantic foundation of our technical publications: ontologies, taxonomies, metadata models, and knowledge graphs. You’ll work closely with our Information Architect and Technical Writers to make DITA/XML content AI‑ready, highly discoverable, and reusable across channels.

Help shape the semantic backbone that powers reuse, dynamic delivery, and AI‑assisted authoring across a global tech publications organization—while coaching a community of writers to embed intelligence in every topic and map.

Key Responsibilities

• Design ontologies & knowledge graphs (RDF/OWL/SKOS) that model products, subsystems, procedures, hazards, roles, tasks, and relationships.

• Own taxonomy & metadata governance: controlled vocabularies, hierarchical/associative taxonomies, subject schemes, and term authority lists.

• Embed structure in DITA/XML: advise on specializations/constraints; standardize metadata application at topic/map granularity for reuse, filtering, and personalization.

• Improve search & AI‑readiness: define semantic signals/attributes that boost retrieval, recommendations, agent checks, and automated validation.

• Enable CCMS workflows: partner with tools engineers to implement taxonomy pickers, dropdowns, inheritance, bulk term application, and quality gates.

• Coach writers & editors: training, usage playbooks, validation checklists, and periodic audits/bulk remediations.

• Measure content health: define data-quality rules; drive continuous improvement with clear KPIs and reports.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelors or Masters degree in Engineering or Physics/Mathematics, with specialization in Information Science/Ontology.

• Experience: 10–15 years in technical content, information architecture, or knowledge engineering—large, complex environments.

• Deep expertise in DITA/XML, metadata, controlled vocabularies, and taxonomy design; hands‑on with subject schemes.

• Working knowledge of RDF/OWL/SKOS, SPARQL, XPath/XQuery (or similar), plus JSON/YAML for model exchange/validation.

• Tooling fluency: Oxygen XML, DITA‑OT, and a CCMS (e.g., IXIASOFT or equivalent); familiarity with publishing/search ecosystems (e.g., Fluid Topics or similar).

• Proven ability to partner with Information Architects and Technical Writers, influence without authority, and lead governance forums.

• Exceptional communication—translate complex semantic concepts into practical guidance for writers and stakeholders.

We offer a competitive, family friendly total rewards package. We design our programs to reflect our commitment to an inclusive environment, while ensuring we provide benefits that meet the diverse needs of our employees.

KLA is proud to be an equal opportunity employer

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