PECVD Process Engineer, Solar Cells (Starlink)

SpaceX•Bastrop, TX

About The Position

SpaceX’s Starlink team designs, builds, and launches a satellite constellation intended to provide fast, reliable internet worldwide. The Solar Cell Process Engineer will help establish an internal, greenfield solar cell production plant, spanning equipment procurement, plant design and layout, commissioning and ramp-up, recipe and process development, and development of a production team and environment. The resulting high-efficiency, high-quality solar cells will support Starlink satellites and Starship missions. The PECVD Process Engineer owns development, optimization, and scaling of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition processes for intrinsic and doped hydrogenated amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon layers used in high-efficiency silicon heterojunction cells. The role develops and iterates manufacturing processes and recipes to achieve high cell efficiency, low defects and cost, and reliability for space applications. The engineer is accountable for production outcomes across yield, uptime, and cost, and contributes to scaling production to high volumes.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline.
At least 1 year of experience in system design, analysis, and/or implementation; internship and extracurricular experience is applicable.
Ability to travel frequently for work, potentially for extended periods during machine buyoffs and startup.
Ability to lift 25 pounds unassisted.
Ability to perform job functions involving lifting, standing, climbing, bending, grasping, sitting, pulling, pushing, stooping, stretching, and carrying.
Willingness to work extended hours and weekends as needed.
Must meet applicable U.S. export-control eligibility requirements: U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, asylee, or eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or Ph.D. in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, physics, or a related technical discipline.
At least 5 years of hands-on PECVD process engineering experience, preferably in SHJ/HJT or TOPCon solar, semiconductor, or display manufacturing.
Track record of scaling PECVD processes to high-volume production exceeding 1 GW per year equivalent.
Strong understanding of vacuum systems, plasma physics, gas-phase and surface chemistry, and thin-film growth of amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon.
Deep understanding of SHJ surface passivation and carrier-selective contacts, including epitaxial growth suppression, hydrogen content and bonding, and band alignment at the a-Si:H/c-Si interface.
Hands-on experience with thin-film and PV characterization techniques such as spectroscopic ellipsometry, FTIR, Raman crystallinity, dark/photo conductivity, Sinton lifetime, and PL/EL.
Experience safely handling pyrophoric, toxic, and flammable process gases such as silane, phosphine, and diborane.
Experience with SPC, DOE, and lean manufacturing principles.
Ability to work in a cleanroom environment.
Hands-on professional experience with complex fluid- or mechanical-based production systems.
Experience transitioning products from design to manufacturing and scaling to high volume as part of a cross-functional team.
Strong organizational, written, and oral communication skills, and self-motivation.
Experience with solar-cell manufacturing equipment, including wet chemical processing, PE-CVD, PVD, metallization and final test, and wafer inspection equipment; hot-wire CVD, evaporation, and ALD experience is a plus.
Experience or expertise with perovskite solar cells or perovskite tandem solar cells.
Experience with microstructure analysis tools such as SEM, TEM, EDX, and SIMS, and optical/electrical characterization tools such as UV-VIS, I-V, and resistance measurement.
Familiarity with large-area, high-throughput PECVD platforms (in-line and cluster/batch) and automation/integration for inline production.
Proficiency in data analysis or scripting (Python, R, SQL) and plasma or device simulation tools such as COMSOL, Quokka, or AFORS-HET.
Experience in cost-of-ownership modeling, capital-expenditure justification, and fab ramp-ups to multi-GW scales.
Passion for sustainable energy and space technology; prior work in photovoltaics at GW scale is a plus.

Responsibilities

Design, qualify, and optimize PECVD processes for SHJ intrinsic passivation layers and p-type/n-type doped layers, ensuring film-thickness uniformity, passivation quality, doping efficiency, and contact resistivity at GW-scale volumes.
Lead process development for new toolsets and materials, optimizing gas chemistry, plasma power and frequency, pressure, temperature, and electrode gap.
Own chamber conditioning strategies, including seasoning, in-situ or remote plasma cleaning recipes, and clean intervals, to control particles, cross-contamination, and run-to-run drift while maximizing uptime.
Partner with the CVD Equipment Engineering team on tool qualification, chamber matching, preventive-maintenance recovery, and throughput improvements.
Develop, implement, and maintain manufacturing processes, equipment, technologies, and facilities.
Analyze production processes and machinery using first-principles, physics-based methods.
Develop experiments to diagnose and correct manufacturing problems using robust DOE and statistical methodologies; optimize process conditions and materials to improve solar-cell optical and electrical quality.
Characterize and analyze defects to determine root causes and develop yield-improvement action plans.
Develop project plans, budgets, and cost-benefit analyses for new processes or machines.
Own and perform machine activation and testing with a small team of engineers and technicians.
Prepare detailed technical design review content.
Take ownership of production outcomes at the Starlink solar factory across yield, uptime, and cost.