Embodiments herein provide a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) formed between metal layers of a semiconductor device. Specifically, provided is an approach for forming the semiconductor device using only one or two masks, the approach comprising: forming a first metal layer in a dielectric layer of the semiconductor device, forming a bottom electrode layer over the first metal layer, forming a MTJ over the bottom electrode layer, forming a top electrode layer over the MTJ, patterning the top electrode layer and the MTJ with a first mask, and forming a second metal layer over the top electrode layer. Optionally, the bottom electrode layer may be patterned using a second mask. Furthermore, in another embodiment, an insulator layer (e.g., manganese) is formed atop the dielectric layer, wherein a top surface of the first metal layer remains exposed following formation of the insulator layer such that the bottom electrode layer contacts the top surface of the first metal layer. By forming the MTJ between the metal layers using only one or two masks, the overall number of processing steps is reduced.