Senior Process Engineer Solar

K2 Space•Los Angeles, CA

About The Position

The processes that go into developing K2's solar arrays — from module interconnects and adhesive systems to cover glass coatings and substrate composites — directly determine how much power they produce, how long they last, and how fast we can build them. Getting the process engineering right is not a support function here; it is on the critical path. You will develop, qualify, and optimize manufacturing processes for K2's solar array systems. The operating environments, mission lifetimes, and production rates we are pursuing demand meaningful impact in how our materials are characterized, qualified, and manufactured. You will own the execution of process development for material systems and novel manufacturing processes as we scale K2's solar array design into production.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in materials science, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, physics, aerospace engineering, or a related technical discipline
5+ years of experience in materials and process engineering, with a strong foundation in materials science and engineering principles
Hands-on experience with material characterization, testing, and process development for hardware applications

Nice To Haves

Master's degree or PhD in materials science, chemical engineering, or a related field
Prior experience developing and qualifying manufacturing processes for solar array systems across the full development lifecycle — requirements definition, trade studies, development testing, qualification, production, and on-orbit data review
Hands-on experience across multiple solar array material systems, with variation in cell technology, interconnect methodology, encapsulant chemistry, and system architecture
Deep working knowledge of adhesive systems, composites, thin films, thermal interface materials, and coatings as applied to high-power, long-life solar array hardware
Working knowledge of AIAA S111/S112, SMC-S-016, NASA-STD-4005, NASA-STD-5017, and NASA-STD-6016 for solar module qualification, materials usage, and spacecraft charging effects
Understanding of radiation effects on solar cell and module materials — displacement damage dose modeling, ionizing effects, UV degradation, and atomic oxygen erosion
Depth across solar process disciplines including deposition techniques for anti-reflective coatings, chemical etching for bond preparation, encapsulant deposition, methods for corrosion control, outgassing compatibility, descriptive and inferential statistics, and failure analysis
Hands-on proficiency with material characterization tools: SEM, EDS, FTIR, DSC, TGA, XRD, or equivalent
Experience scaling manufacturing processes from prototype to high-rate production, including SPC implementation and manufacturing equipment qualification
Python or MATLAB proficiency for test data analysis and degradation modeling

Responsibilities

Responsible for the development, qualification, and production-scale optimization of K2 solar array processes — including solar module interconnects, bonding, sintering, lamination, deposition, coating, bonding, mechanism joints, and surface treatment
Research, evaluate, and support selection of conventional and novel processes for solar array applications, contributing to trades that balance performance, manufacturability, cost, reliability, and schedule
Design and execution of structured DOE and statistical analyses to diagnose manufacturing problems and validate corrective actions
Use a first-principle, physics-based characterization across production processes to identify sources of variation and opportunities for yield improvement
Lead failure analysis, defect characterization, and root causes investigations for process related anomalies
Establish and drive corrective action plans back into design requirements and production
Own the evaluation, cost/benefit analysis, and selection of manufacturing equipment for all in-house process development
Collaborate with the production team to develop process specifications, work instructions, in-process checkouts, and end-of-line tests
Define qualification criteria, test envelopes, and characterization campaigns to establish resultant performance across radiation, thermal cycling, mechanical, and plasma environments
Partner with solar structures/mechanisms, thermal, avionics, and production teams to define manufacturing process-driven requirements, integrated qualification/acceptance testing, and on-orbit data review
Mentor junior engineers on process engineering fundamentals and solar array manufacturing best practices