Product Marketing Manager @ KLA
i've had 3 interviews for this role now and all 3 have spent at least 10 minutes stressing and explaining that this is one of the hardest roles and hardest working positions at KLA. How bad is it really?
Is GSS the crazy division, like in terms of work?
yeah haha
It is hard. Really hard. Once you can get past the thick Telugu and Tamil accents of the managers, you will have to walk through the quagmire of politics and personal interests. If you survive all this, you will have to sell the low-quality product to the major fabs. The customer escalations will be many and never ending. You must learn how to identify scapegoats and make their lives miserable. Nepotism is rampant: friends, wives, cousins ... Consequently, incompetence is rewarded. You have been warned.
appreciate it
Thank you for the detailed thought. But, from a career perspective, do you think it is worth it ? I am young and I want to prove myself in the environment I am in. Is it a place for that, setting aside all the nepotism/politics?
My observations are about the software division only. There is a lot of tech potential in this domain. However, most of your time will be spent dealing with politics and micromanagement. If you want to learn how to survive in such an environment, you will learn a lot. What are you going to prove and to whom? Nobody cares. Nepotism will not let you shine. You have to be in one of the "groups". To be in a group, you have to do things that will hurt your self-esteem. Your manager will take all the credits. They will blame you for all the problems. The manager has to shield himself and the group. Let me give you an example so that you understand the company's mindset: There are many mandatory Windows registry keys for the SW to work properly. Some smart SW developers will make sure that the registry keys are not written properly in the FAB during install. This causes SW to not work. Intel or TSMC will start raining fire on the upper management. These smart SW developers will then fly to the FAB and edit the registry key. They instantly achieve GOD status. Hundreds of thousands of dollars down the drain because the management is clueless about quality. Now, imagine you write flawless, well-tested code in such an environment. Do you think you will be able to prove anything? Nobody cares about quality.
OP: Did you get the job?
still waiting but assuming no - but I have been getting alot of recruiter calls lately, i guess economy is picking up
You didn’t miss out. It’s a shit show there. Consider your self lucky. They would have made you move to Ann arbor. I will be interested in GSS performance this earnings season.
Which division at KLA and don’t say GSS…
gss 😂
Whoever you’re are interviewing with is bullshitting and just trying cover that there is massive attrition in GSS marketing. Why do you think that there are so many GSS marketing jobs listed for KLA for such a long time? It’s because so many people leave after being there a short time due to poor management of GSS. GSS revenue has barely grown the past 2 years during boom times. I know KLA as a whole and KLA marketing. GSS is not a crazy. Work is very easy. People move to GSS from other divisions to die. Especially marketing. The most difficult thing about GSS is how to deal with the processes that have been updated since the 1980s and the horrible politics. Backstabbing in GSS is horrible. You could do a terrific job but the person who kisses the ass of management will get the promotions and the big 6% raises. KLA overall is a weird company. They make odd decisions. The built not leased a brand new building in Ann Arbor and transferred jobs there in a time where the shift is working from home so companies don’t need office space.