Solar Cell Process Engineer (Starlink)

The role

You will spearhead production processes for an internal solar cell production line. This includes setting up a greenfield solar cell production plant and developing manufacturing processes for Starlink satellites and Starship missions.

What you will do

• Develop, implement, and maintain new and/or improved manufacturing processes, equipment, technologies, and facilities
• Analyze production processes and machinery from a first principles, physics-based approach
• Develop experiments to diagnose and correct manufacturing problems using DOE and statistical methodologies
• Optimize process conditions and materials to improve optical and electrical quality of solar cells
• Perform defect characterization and analysis to determine root cause and improve yields
• Develop project plans, budgets, and cost/benefit analysis for new processes or machines
• Perform machine activation and testing with a team of engineers and technicians
• Prepare content for technical design reviews

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline
• 1+ years of experience in chemical engineering design, analysis, and/or system implementation
• Ability to travel frequently for work, potentially for extended periods of time during machine buyoffs and startup
• Ability to lift 25 lbs. unassisted
• Lifting, standing, climbing, bending, grasping, sitting, pulling, pushing, stooping, stretching, and carrying are generally required

Nice to have

• Master’s degree or PhD in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, environmental engineering, or related technical discipline
• Hands-on experience working with complex fluid or mechanical based production systems in a professional setting
• Experience transitioning products from design to manufacturing and scaling to high volume as part of a cross-functional team
• Self-motivated with strong organizational, written, and oral communication skills
• Experience with solar cell manufacturing equipment, such as wet chemical processing equipment, PE-CVD equipment, PVD machines, metallization and final test equipment, and wafer inspection equipment
• Experience in evaporation tools and ALD tools are a plus
• Experience or expertise with perovskite solar cells or perovskite tandem solar cells
• Experience with micro-structure analysis tools (SEM, TEM, EDX, SIMS, etc.) and optical/electrical characterization tools (UV-VIS, I-V, Resistance, etc.)

About the company

SpaceX is actively developing technologies to enable human life on Mars. Starlink designs, builds, and launches a satellite constellation to deliver high-speed internet to remote locations.