Factory Service Engineer

Oxford Instruments

Santa Barbara, CA

Pay: $85,000-$110,000/yr

Shift: Full time

At Oxford Instruments, we enable the world’s leading industrial companies and scientific research communities to image, analyse and manipulate materials down to the atomic and molecular level. Using Atomic Force Microscopes from Asylum Research, our customers can see how cancer cells respond to new treatments, extend the lifetime and efficiency of renewable energy systems and lithium-ion batteries, and develop the novel materials required for quantum computing.

**Business Unit:** Oxford Instruments AFM

**Location:** Santa Barbara, CA (in-person)

**Job Title:** Factory Service Engineer

**Reports to:** FactoryService Supervisor

**About Oxford Instruments:**

Our purpose is to accelerate the breakthroughs that create a brighter future for our world. Our technology and scientific expertise enable our customers to discover and bring to market exciting new advances that drive human progress. We aim to be the scientific instrumentation partner in every significant lab and production facility across the world.

Oxford Instruments Asylum Research is a manufacturer of nanotechnology instrumentation for industry and research. Specifically, we design, build and sell Atomic Force Microscopes (AFM) which are used to analyze material topography, elasticity, conductivity, and other properties.

We are part of the wider Oxford Instruments Group that includes the Imaging & Analysis Division. The I&A Division includes Andor Technology, our Electron Microscopy products, NanoIndentor, Raman products, and NMR product lines. Plasma Technology and X-Ray Technology are part of the Advanced Technology Division. With a sixty-year history, and fourteen Queen’s Awards and a King’s Award for Enterprise, our world-class products and technologies are helping our customers to address the greatest challenges of the 21st century.

We want to empower our employees so that they innovate, support our growth, and improve our productivity. We support them to make the right decisions and reach their full potential as they develop their careers at Oxford Instruments. Our ways of working are lived every day and are as follows:

• We start with the customer
• We succeed by being focused
• We make and keep our promises
• We work together as one team
• We help and trust each other to succeed

**About the Opportunity:**

Oxford Instruments Asylum Research is seeking a hands-on Factory Service Engineer to support the factory service, repair, troubleshooting, testing, and continuous improvement of advanced Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) systems and related components at our Santa Barbara facility. This in-person role partners closely with Production, Test, Engineering, and other teams to diagnose complex technical issues, restore equipment to specification, and deliver reliable solutions that support our customers and internal operations. The Factory Service Engineer also serves as a customer-focused technical partner, providing timely updates, clear explanations, and responsive support that builds trust and helps minimize customer downtime.

**Key job responsibilities include, but not limited to:**

• Diagnose, troubleshoot, repair, and test AFM systems, subassemblies, electronics, mechanical assemblies, and related accessories returned for factory service.
• Perform systematic fault isolation using schematics, technical documentation, diagnostic tools, test equipment, and established service procedures.
• Complete preventive maintenance, calibration, upgrades, refurbishment, and verification testing to ensure serviced equipment meets applicable performance and quality requirements.
• Document troubleshooting steps, repairs, parts used, test results, and final disposition clearly and accurately in service and quality records.
• Partner with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Applications, and field service teams to resolve complex or recurring product issues and provide actionable technical feedback.
• Support root-cause investigations and corrective actions by identifying failure trends and recommending improvements to service processes, documentation, test methods, or product design.
• Maintain service work areas, tools, test fixtures, and equipment in a safe, organized, and ready-to-use condition.
• Communicate status, findings, risks, and priorities effectively with internal stakeholders and, when appropriate, support technical communication related to customer service cases.
• Provide responsive, professional technical support for customer service cases by listening carefully, clarifying symptoms and expectations, and communicating troubleshooting findings and next steps in clear, customer-friendly language.
• Build customer confidence and long-term trust through dependable follow-up, accurate commitments, and a service-oriented approach that keeps customers informed throughout the repair or support process.
• Support remote troubleshooting and technical guidance, when appropriate, to help resolve issues efficiently, minimize custo