Process and Equipment Development Engineer

The role

You will turn experimental recipes into repeatable fabrication processes. You will work with materials R&D and external development engineers to reproduce processes on equipment and establish process controls for photovoltaic cells and solar blankets.

What you will do

• Transfer externally developed recipes into Starpath's laboratory and adapt process conditions.
• Develop and integrate fabrication steps into a complete process sequence.
• Specify, select, commission, and qualify process equipment.
• Design and execute experiments to establish process windows and improve performance.
• Troubleshoot interactions between materials, process steps, and equipment.
• Establish baseline recipes, work instructions, equipment settings, and maintenance requirements.
• Partner with integration, test, reliability, and manufacturing teams to validate changes.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, materials science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Hands-on experience developing fabrication processes for thin films, photovoltaics, semiconductors, coatings, or comparable precision products.
• Experience bringing laboratory or production equipment into operation and troubleshooting process or equipment issues.
• Ability to plan controlled experiments, analyze results, and connect process conditions to material or device performance.
• Experience documenting processes so others can execute them consistently.
• A desire to make humans a multi-planet species.

Nice to have

• Experience with perovskite photovoltaics, deposition or coating processes, patterning, encapsulation, or flexible substrates.
• Experience transferring processes between different tools or facilities.
• Experience with process integration, statistical process control, yield improvement, or pilot manufacturing.
• Familiarity with vacuum systems, thermal processing, fluid delivery, instrumentation, or equipment controls.

Benefits

• Health, dental, vision, and retirement plans.
• Paid time off, holidays, and flexible policies.
• Professional growth opportunities through training and development.
• The chance to own high-impact work that directly shapes the future of robotics & space!
• A collaborative, mission-driven culture where craftsmanship and innovation are celebrated.

Before you apply

• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, you must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv)

About the company

Starlight is developing photovoltaic cells and ultra-thin solar blankets and building the equipment and processes to manufacture them internally.