Polymer Chemist - Space Solar

The role

You will own polymer materials, encapsulation systems, and barrier chemistries to protect perovskite solar cells from the space environment. You will drive formulation, qualification, and integration decisions for solar arrays.

What you will do

• Develop, formulate, and qualify polymer encapsulants, edge seals, barrier films, and adhesives
• Engineer moisture and oxygen barrier systems with ultra-low WVTR and OTR
• Develop low-temperature curing and lamination processes
• Drive root-cause investigations on bonding, outgassing, delamination, and ingress-driven degradation
• Characterize polymer materials and bonded joints using FTIR, DSC, TGA, WVTR/OTR, and lap shear/peel testing
• Evaluate polymer and encapsulation performance under space environments
• Translate bench chemistry into stable, high-yield production processes
• Simplify chemistries, reduce cure times, and cut overhead

Required qualifications

• Master's or PhD in polymer chemistry, chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, or a related discipline
• 3+ years of hands-on experience with polymer encapsulants, adhesives, or barrier films for sensitive optoelectronic or electronic devices
• Demonstrated ability to connect polymer chemistry and processing to device-level reliability outcomes

Nice to have

• PhD in a relevant discipline with a focus on encapsulation, barrier materials, or polymer chemistry for optoelectronic devices
• Direct experience formulating or qualifying encapsulation systems for moisture- and oxygen-sensitive devices
• Hands-on experience with ultra-low WVTR/OTR barrier materials
• Familiarity with low-temperature cure systems
• Experience with surface preparation, adhesion science, and bond strength testing
• Knowledge of space-grade material requirements
• Experience scaling polymer processes from bench to high-rate production
• Exposure to aerospace, space, or other high-reliability hardware environments

Benefits

• Health, dental, vision, and retirement plans
• Paid time off, holidays, and flexible policies
• Professional growth opportunities through training and development

Before you apply

• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful permanent resident, Refugee, or Asylee, or be eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State

About the company

Starpath develops and manufactures technologies to enable humans to live on the Moon and Mars. They are building robotic systems to locally produce water, power, and oxygen.