Senior Process Engineer, Wet Etch

T1 Energy • Rockdale, TX

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About The Position

T1 is seeking a Senior Wet Etch Engineer to develop, qualify, and own the wet chemical processes used to manufacture TOPCon solar cells at scale, including texturing, cleaning, and etch steps. You’ll apply a physics-based approach to process development, partner across engineering teams, and drive cell efficiency and yield improvement as we bring a new high-volume fab online.

Requirements

• Degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field, or equivalent experience
• 5+ years of hands-on wet process engineering experience in solar cell or semiconductor manufacturing, with a strong preference for TOPCon or other high-efficiency cell technologies
• Deep experience with wet process development, tool qualification, and establishing process baselines and control plans in high-volume manufacturing
• Working knowledge of texturing, cleaning, and etch chemistries and their impact on surface passivation, lifetime, and cell efficiency
• Proficiency with wet process metrology, including reflectance, film thickness, particle and defect inspection, lifetime measurement, and surface analysis techniques
• Strong Design of Experiments skills and statistical analysis capability
• Experience handling hazardous chemicals safely

Nice To Haves

• A wet process practitioner — you know wet etch and wet clean well and have hands-on development and manufacturing experience to back it up
• A first-principles thinker who looks for the mechanism behind a result, not just the recipe that produced it
• Rigorous and data-driven, with strong Design of Experiments and statistical analysis skills
• Collaborative and proactive across process, equipment, metrology, quality, and R&D teams
• Energized by the challenge of scaling advanced cell technology in a new fab environment

Responsibilities

• Develop, qualify, and own wet processes for TOPCon cell manufacturing, including saw damage removal, alkaline texturing, rear-side etch and polish, edge isolation, and pre-deposition and pre-diffusion cleans
• Own bath chemistry, concentration control, temperature management, dosing, and bath life for alkaline, acidic, and oxidizing chemistries, including HF, KOH/NaOH, and ozone-based steps
• Optimize BSG, PSG, and polysilicon wrap-around removal, texture quality, reflectance, and surface cleanliness to improve cell efficiency, minority carrier lifetime, and passivation performance
• Qualify inline and batch wet process tools from installation through production readiness, partnering with Equipment, Metrology, and Quality on process matching, particle and metal contamination control, and wafer breakage reduction
• Lead root cause analysis for yield excursions and efficiency losses using a first-principles, physics-based approach, and establish inline metrology and control strategies to drive systematic improvement
• Support 24/7 manufacturing operations through rotations, on-call availability, and rapid response to critical production issues
• Drive next-generation wet chemistry formulations, additives, and process development to reduce cost and improve cell performance

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior