Service Manager - Japan
About the role
About Nearfield Instruments
Nearfield Instruments (NFI) is a fast-growing high-tech scale-up that designs, develops, integrates, markets, and services advanced semiconductor metrology solutions. Our instruments enable the world’s leading chipmakers to improve production yield and device performance - powering smaller, faster, and more energy‑efficient electronics.
Founded in 2016, Nearfield now employs approximately 430 people worldwide. We are known for bringing together top scientific and engineering talent to develop a breakthrough, high‑throughput Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)–based metrology platform used in leading‑edge, high‑volume semiconductor manufacturing.
About the Role
As Service Manager Japan, you are responsible for building and leading Nearfield’s local service organization to support a growing installed base of QUADRA™ metrology systems in Japanese semiconductor fabs.
You will develop the service and applications engineering capability, ensure operational excellence in system installation and field support, and act as a key interface between customers and Nearfield’s global organization. In this role, you are both a people leader and a strategic partner - driving equipment performance, customer satisfaction, and service profitability.
Key Responsibilities
Service Operations & Organization
Establish and lead a high-performing local service organization, including hiring, onboarding, and developing field service and application engineers.
Define ways of working with customers and internal stakeholders to ensure efficient and scalable service delivery.
Prepare the service organization for future growth by anticipating customer ramp plans and capacity needs.
Equipment Performance & Continuous Improvement
Measure and improve reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) of the installed base.
Identify field issues and translate them into concrete improvement initiatives.
Drive product design and service quality improvements in collaboration with R&D and global service teams.
Share best practices and adopt learnings from other regional service organizations.
Customer & Business Impact
Act as the “voice of the customer” in Nearfield’s internal decision-making related to product development, installations, upgrades, and service strategy.
Maintain trusted relationships with customer fab management, ensuring clear communication and reliable execution.
Support service revenue growth and margin improvement through value‑adding service offerings and cost‑effective execution.
Provide competitive and market intelligence based on direct customer interactions.
Who You Are
A hands-on leader who takes ownership and delivers results.
Skilled at building autonomous, high‑performing teams while collaborating effectively with global counterparts.
A trusted partner to customers - consistent, transparent, and reliable (“do what you say, say what you do”).
Confident communicator, able to manage short‑term escalations and shape long‑term improvement roadmaps.
Comfortable collaborating across service, development, and commercial teams globally (including Europe, Taiwan, and the US).
Required Experience & Qualifications
Proven experience leading installation and field support teams in the semiconductor equipment industry.
Demonstrated success with new product introductions in a customer fab environment.
Strong understanding of service operations, uptime management, and customer support in high‑volume manufacturing.
Metrology experience is a strong plus, but not required.
Willingness to travel periodically to Nearfield headquarters in the Netherlands.
Proficiency in Japanese and English
Questions about this role
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