A layered heater structure including an electrode layer and a localized tuning method for tuning the electrode layer of a layered heater structure with high precision is provided. The localized tuning method tunes the electrode layer to its proper local resistance to minimize temperature offsets on the heater surface and thus provide a desired thermal profile that is in marked contrast to conventional, non-localized resistance tuning approaches based on thickness trimming practices, such as grinding or blasting, or resistivity adjustment, such as local heat treatment.