<PAGE>

                                                                EXHIBIT 10.19

                              EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
                              --------------------


This Employment Agreement (the "Agreement") is made and entered into effective
as of November 26, 1997, by and between G. Scott Scholler (the "Employee") and
Cymer, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the "Company").


                                       RECITALS

A.   The Company may from time to time need to address the possibility of an
acquisition transaction or change of control event.  The Board of Directors of
the Company (the "Board") recognizes that such events can be a distraction to
the Employee and can cause the Employee to consider alternative employment
opportunities.  The Board has determined that it is in the best interests of the
Company and its stockholders to assure that the Company will have the continued
dedication and objectivity of the Employee, notwithstanding the possibility,
threat or occurrence of a Change of Control (as defined below) of the Company,
although no such Change is now contemplated.

B.   The Board believes that it is in the best interests of the Company and its
stockholders to provide the Employee with an incentive to continue his
employment and to motivate the Employee to maximize the value of the Company
upon a Change of Control for the benefit of its stockholders.

C.   The Board believes that it is imperative to provide the Employee with
certain benefits upon a Change of Control and, under certain circumstances, upon
termination of the Employee's employment in connection with a Change of Control,
which benefits are intended to provide the Employee with financial security and
provide sufficient incentive and encouragement to the Employee to remain with
the Company notwithstanding the possibility of a Change of Control.

D.   To accomplish the foregoing objectives, the Board has directed the Company,
upon execution of this Agreement by the Employee, to agree to the terms provided
herein.

E.   Certain capitalized terms used in this Agreement are defined in Section 7
below.


                                      AGREEMENT

In consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained, and in consideration
of the continuing employment of the Employee by the Company, the parties agree
as follows:

1.   DUTIES AND SCOPE OF EMPLOYMENT.  The Company shall employ the Employee in
the position of Sr. Vice President of Operations, as such position has been
defined in terms of responsibilities and compensation as of the effective date
of this Agreement; provided, however, that the Board shall have the right, at
any time prior to the occurrence of a Change of Control, to revise such
responsibilities and compensation as the Board in its discretion may deem
necessary or appropriate.  The Employee shall comply with and be bound by the
Company's operating policies, procedures and practices from time to time in
effect during his employment.  During the term of the Employee's employment with
the Company, the Employee shall continue to devote his full time, skill and
attention to his duties and responsibilities, and shall perform them faithfully,
diligently and competently, and the Employee shall use his best efforts to
further the business of the Company and its affiliated entities.

2.   BASE COMPENSATION.  The Company shall pay the Employee as compensation for
his services a base salary at the annualized rate of $200,000.00.  Such salary
shall be paid periodically in accordance with normal Company payroll practices.
The Board or the Compensation Committee of the Board shall review the base
salary of the Employee according to normal Company practice, but no less
frequently than annually, and may in its discretion increase but not decrease
the base salary. The Board or the Compensation Committee of the Board shall
review the 


                                        Page 1

<PAGE>

base salary of the Employee according to normal Company practice, but no less
frequently than annually, and may in its discretion increase but not decrease
the base salary below the amount specified in this agreement.

3.   ANNUAL INCENTIVE.  Beginning with the Company's current fiscal year and for
each fiscal year thereafter during the term of this Agreement, the Employee
shall be eligible to receive an annual bonus under the Company's annual
incentive plan (the "Annual Incentive") based upon performance targets approved
by the compensation committee of the Board (the "Target Incentive").  The Annual
Incentive payable hereunder shall be payable in accordance with the Company's
normal practices and policies.

4.   EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.  The Employee shall be eligible to participate in the
employee benefit plans and executive compensation programs maintained by the
Company applicable to other key executives of the Company, including (without
limitation) retirement plans, savings or profit-sharing plans, stock option,
incentive or other bonus plans, life, disability, health, accident and other
insurance programs, paid vacations, and similar plans or programs, subject in
each case to the generally applicable terms and conditions of the applicable
plan or program in question and to the sole determination of the Board or any
committee administering such plan or program.

5.   EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP.  The Company and the Employee acknowledge that the
Employee's employment is and shall continue to be at-will, as defined under
applicable law.  If the Employee's employment terminates for any reason, the
Employee shall not be entitled to any payments, benefits, damages, awards or
compensation other than as provided by this Agreement, or as may otherwise be
available in accordance with the Company's established employee plans and
policies at the time of termination.

6.   TERMINATION BENEFITS.  Subject to Sections 8 and 9 below, in the event the
Employee's employment terminates as a result of an Involuntary Termination other
than for Cause upon or within 18 months after a Change of Control, then the
Employee shall be entitled to receive severance and other benefits as follows:

     (a)  PAY CONTINUATION.  The Employee shall be entitled to monthly payments
     equal to the Employee's monthly Base Salary as in effect immediately prior
     to the Change of Control plus one-twelfth (1/12) of the average of the
     annual bonus amount paid to the Employee with respect to the three previous
     calendar years.  Such monthly amounts shall be paid according to the normal
     payroll practice of the Company for 12 months following the date of
     termination (the "Termination Period"). 

     (b)  ANNUAL INCENTIVE. The Employee shall be entitled to receive a
     percentage of the Employee's Target Incentive for the calendar year in
     which such termination occurs. Such percentage shall equal a fraction, the
     numerator of which shall be the number of days in such calendar year up to
     and including the date of such termination and the denominator of which
     shall be the number of days in such calendar year.  Such amount shall be
     payable according to the normal practice of the Company with respect to the
     payment of bonuses.

     (c ) OPTIONS.  The unvested portion of any stock option(s) held by the
     Employee under the Company's stock option plans shall vest and become
     exercisable in full upon the date of such termination. 

     (d)  MEDICAL BENEFITS. The Company shall reimburse the Employee for the
     cost of the Employee's group health, vision and dental plan coverage in
     effect until the end of the Termination Period.  The Employee may use this
     payment, as well as any other payment made under this Section 6, for such
     continuation coverage or for any other purpose. To the extent the Employee
     pays the cost of such coverage, and the cost of such coverage is not
     deductible as a medical expense by the Employee, the Company shall
     "gross-up" the amount of such reimbursement for all taxes payable by the
     Employee on the amount of such reimbursement and the amount of such
     gross-up.

7.   DEFINITION OF TERMS.  The following terms referred to in this Agreement
shall have the following meanings:


                                        Page 2

<PAGE>

(a)  CAUSE.  "Cause" shall mean (i) any act of personal dishonesty taken by the
Employee in connection with his responsibilities as an employee and intended to
result in substantial personal enrichment of the Employee, (ii) conviction of a
felony that is injurious to the Company, (iii) a willful act by the Employee
which constitutes gross misconduct and which is injurious to the Company, and
(iv) continued violations by the Employee of the Employee's obligations under
Section 1 of this Agreement that are demonstrably willful and deliberate on the
Employee's part after there has been delivered to the Employee a written demand
for performance from the Company which describes the basis for the Company's
belief that the Employee has not substantially performed his duties.

(b)  CHANGE OF CONTROL.  "Change of Control" shall mean the occurrence of any of
the following events:

     (i)    The acquisition by any "person" (as such term is used in Sections
     13(d) and 14(d) of the Exchange Act) (other than the Company or a person
     that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common
     control with, the Company) of the "beneficial ownership" (as defined in
     Rule 13d-3 under said Act), directly or indirectly, of securities of the
     Company representing fifty percent (50%) or more of the total voting power
     represented by the Company's then outstanding voting securities; or

     (ii)   A change in the composition of the Board of Directors of the
     Company occurring within a two-year period, as a result of which fewer than
     a majority of the directors are Incumbent Directors.  "Incumbent Directors"
     shall mean directors who either (A) are directors of the Company as of the
     date hereof, or (B) are elected, or nominated for election, to the Board of
     Directors of the Company with the affirmative votes of at least a majority
     of the Incumbent Directors at the time of such election or nomination (but
     shall not include an individual not otherwise an Incumbent Director whose
     election or nomination is in connection with an actual or threatened proxy
     contest relating to the election of directors to the Company); or

     (iii)  A merger or consolidation of the Company with any other
     corporation, other than a merger or consolidation which would result in the
     voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior thereto
     continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being
     converted into voting securities of the surviving entity) at least fifty
     percent (50%) of the total voting power represented by the voting
     securities of the Company or such surviving entity outstanding immediately
     after such merger or consolidation, or the approval by the stockholders of
     the Company of a plan of complete liquidation of the Company or of an
     agreement for the sale or disposition by the Company of all or
     substantially all the Company's assets.

(c)  DISABILITY.  "Disability" shall mean that the Employee has been unable to
substantially perform his duties under this Agreement as the result of his
incapacity due to physical or mental illness, and such inability, at least 26
weeks after its commencement, is determined to be total and permanent by a
physician selected by the Company or its insurers and acceptable to the Employee
or the Employee's legal representative (such agreement as to acceptability not
to be unreasonably withheld).

(d)  EXCHANGE ACT.  "Exchange Act" shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended.

(e)  INVOLUNTARY TERMINATION.  "Involuntary Termination" shall mean (i) without
the Employee's express written consent, the significant reduction of the
Employee's duties or responsibilities relative to the Employee's duties or
responsibilities in effect immediately prior to such reduction; provided,
however, that a reduction in duties or responsibilities solely by virtue of the
Company being acquired and made part of a larger entity (as, for example, when
the Chief Financial Officer of Company remains as such following a Change of
Control and is not made the Chief Financial Officer of the acquiring
corporation) shall not constitute an "Involuntary Termination"; (ii) without the
Employee's express written consent, a substantial reduction, without good
business reasons, of the facilities and perquisites (including office space and
location) available to the Employee immediately prior to such reduction; (iii)
without the Employee's 


                                        Page 3

<PAGE>

express written consent, a material reduction by the Company in the Base
Compensation or Target Incentive of the Employee as in effect immediately prior
to such reduction, or the ineligibility of the Employee to continue to
participate in any long-term incentive plan of the Company; (iv) a material
reduction by the Company in the kind or level of employee benefits to which the
Employee is entitled immediately prior to such reduction with the result that
the Employee's overall benefits package is significantly reduced; (v) the
relocation of the Employee to a facility or a location more than 50 miles from
the Employee's then present location, without the Employee's express written
consent; (vi) any purported termination of the Employee by the Company which is
not effected for death or Disability or for Cause, or any purported termination
for which the grounds relied upon are not valid; or (vii) the failure of the
Company to obtain the assumption of this agreement by any successors
contemplated in Section 10 below.

8.   LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS.  

     (a)    In the event that the severance and other benefits provided for in
     this Agreement or otherwise payable to the Employee (i) constitute
     "parachute payments" within the meaning of Section 280G of the Internal
     Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code") and (ii) but for this Section
     8 would be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code,
     then the Employee's severance benefits under Section 6 shall be payable
     either (i) in full, or (ii) as to such lesser amount which would result in
     no portion of such severance benefits being subject to excise tax under
     Section 4999 of the Code, whichever of the foregoing amounts, taking into
     account the applicable federal, state and local income taxes and the excise
     tax imposed by Section 4999, results in the receipt by the Employee on an
     after-tax basis, of the greatest amount of severance benefits under this
     Agreement, notwithstanding that all or some portion of such severance
     benefits may be taxable under Section 4999 of the Code. 

     (b)    If a reduction in the payments and benefits that would otherwise be
     paid or provided to the Employee under the terms of this Agreement is
     necessary to comply with the provisions of Section 8(a), the Employee shall
     be entitled to select which payments or benefits will be reduced and the
     manner and method of any such reduction of such payments or benefits
     (including but not limited to the number of options that would vest under
     Section 6(b) subject to reasonable limitations (including, for example,
     express provisions under the Company's benefit plans) (so long as the
     requirements of Section 8(a) are met).  Within thirty (30) days after the
     amount of any required reduction in payments and benefits is finally
     determined in accordance with the provisions of Section 8(c), the Employee
     shall notify the Company in writing regarding which payments or benefits
     are to be reduced.  If no notification is given by the Employee, the
     Company will determine which amounts to reduce.  If, as a result of any
     reduction required by Section 8(a), amounts previously paid to the Employee
     exceed the amount to which the Employee is entitled, the Employee will
     promptly return the excess amount to the Company.

     (c )   Unless the Company and the Employee otherwise agree in writing, any
     determination required under this Section 8 shall be made in writing by the
     Company's independent public accountants (the "Accountants"), whose
     determination shall be conclusive and binding upon the Employee and the
     Company for all purposes.  For purposes of making the calculations required
     by this Section 8, the Accountants may make reasonable assumptions and
     approximations concerning applicable taxes and may rely on reasonable, good
     faith interpretations concerning the application of Sections 280G and 4999
     of the Code. The Company and the Employee shall furnish to the Accountants
     such information and documents as the Accountants may reasonably request in
     order to make a determination under this Section.  The Company shall bear
     all costs the Accountants may reasonably incur in connection with any
     calculations contemplated by this Section 8.

9.   CERTAIN BUSINESS COMBINATIONS.  In the event it is determined by the Board,
upon receipt of a written opinion of the Company's independent public
accountants, that the enforcement of any Section or subsection of this
Agreement, including, but not limited to, Section 6(b) hereof, which allows for
the acceleration of vesting of options to purchase shares of the Company's
common stock upon a termination in connection with a Change of Control, would
preclude accounting for any proposed business combination of the Company
involving a Change of Control as a pooling of interests, and the Board otherwise
desires to approve such a proposed business transaction which 


                                        Page 4

<PAGE>

requires as a condition to the closing of such transaction that it be accounted
for as a pooling of interests, then any such Section of this Agreement shall be
null and void, but only if the absence of enforcement of such Section would
preserve the pooling treatment.  For purposes of this Section 9, the Board's
determination shall require the unanimous approval of the disinterested Board
members.

10.  SUCCESSORS.

     (a)    COMPANY'S SUCCESSORS.  Any successor to the Company (whether direct
     or indirect and whether by purchase, lease, merger, consolidation,
     liquidation or otherwise) to all or substantially all of the Company's
     business and assets shall assume the obligations under this Agreement and
     agree expressly to perform the obligations under this Agreement in the same
     manner and to the same extent as the Company would be required to perform
     such obligations in the absence of a succession.  For all purposes under
     this Agreement, the term "Company" shall include any successor to the
     Company's business and assets which executes and delivers the assumption
     agreement described in this Section 10(a) or which becomes bound by the
     terms of this Agreement by operation of law.

     (b)    EMPLOYEE'S SUCCESSORS.  The terms of this Agreement and all rights
     of the Employee hereunder shall inure to the benefit of, and be enforceable
     by, the Employee's personal or legal representatives, executors,
     administrators, successors, heirs, devisees and legatees.

11.  NOTICE.  Notices and all other communications contemplated by this
Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given when
personally delivered or when mailed by U.S. registered or certified mail, return
receipt requested and postage prepaid.  In the case of the Employee, mailed
notices shall be addressed to him at the home address which he most recently
communicated to the Company in writing.  In the case of the Company, mailed
notices shall be addressed to its corporate headquarters, and all notices shall
be directed to the attention of its Secretary.

9.   MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

     (a)    WAIVER.  No provision of this Agreement shall be modified, waived
     or discharged unless the modification, waiver or discharge is agreed to in
     writing and signed by the Employee and by an authorized officer of the
     Company (other than the Employee).  No waiver by either party of any breach
     of, or of compliance with, any condition or provision of this Agreement by
     the other party shall be considered a waiver of any other condition or
     provision or of the same condition or provision at another time.

     (b)    WHOLE AGREEMENT.  No agreements, representations or understandings
     (whether oral or written and whether express or implied) which are not
     expressly set forth in this Agreement have been made or entered into by
     either party with respect to the subject matter hereof.

     (c )   CHOICE OF LAW.  The validity, interpretation, construction and
     performance of this Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of
     California.

     (d)    SEVERABILITY.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision
     or provisions of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or
     enforceability of any other provision hereof, which shall remain in full
     force and effect.

     (e)    ARBITRATION.  Any dispute or controversy arising out of, relating
     to or in connection with this Agreement shall be settled exclusively by
     binding arbitration in San Diego, California, in accordance with the
     National Rules for the Resolution of Employment Disputes of the American
     Arbitration Association then in effect.  Judgment may be entered on the
     arbitrator's award in any court having jurisdiction.  The Company and the
     Employee shall each pay one-half of the costs and expenses of such
     arbitration, and each shall separately pay its counsel fees and expenses. 
     Punitive damages shall not be awarded.


                                        Page 5

<PAGE>

     (f)    NO ASSIGNMENT OF BENEFITS.  The rights of any person to payments or
     benefits under this Agreement shall not be made subject to option or
     assignment, either by voluntary or involuntary assignment or by operation
     of law, including (without limitation) bankruptcy, garnishment, attachment
     or other creditor's process, and any action in violation of this Section
     9(g) shall be void.

     (g)    ASSIGNMENT BY COMPANY.  The Company may assign its rights under
     this Agreement to an affiliate, and an affiliate may assign its rights
     under this Agreement to another affiliate of the Company or to the Company;
     provided, however, that no assignment shall be made if the net worth of the
     assignee is less than the net worth of the Company at the time of
     assignment.  In the case of any such assignment, the term "Company" when
     used in a section of this Agreement shall mean the corporation that
     actually employs the Employee.

     (h)    COUNTERPARTS.  This Agreement may be executed in counterparts, each
     of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together will
     constitute one and the same instrument.



IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties has executed this Agreement, in the case
of the Company by its duly authorized officer, as of the day and year first
above written.


            By:     Robert P. Akins

            Title:  Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President


                    /s/ Robert P. Akins 
                    ------------------------------------------




EMPLOYEE:           /s/ G. Scott Scholler   
                    ------------------------------------------
                              G. Scott Scholler



                                        Page 6