David A Markle earned a BS in engineering physics from the University of Alberta, an MS in reactor physics from the University of Birmingham, and a diploma in business administration from the London School of Economics. He began his professional career at Perkin Elmer Corporation. In 1984, he joined Ultratech as Vice President of Advanced Technology, later becoming CTO and Chairman of the Technical Advisory Board. After his retirement in 2008, he co-founded Periodic Structures, Inc., which is a start-up company that develops practical lithography solutions based on interference.

Markle has been widely recognized for his work. He received a SEMI Award from the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Institute in 1979, the 1994 David Richardson Medal from OSA, and the 2013 Fritz Zernike Award from SPIE. He is a Fellow of OSA, SPIE, and IEEE, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.