Sr. Materials Engineer, Silicon Crystal Growth (Starlink)

SpaceX • Bastrop, TX

45d • Onsite

About The Position

SpaceX is looking for a Materials Engineer to utilize their knowledge, experience, and creativity to solve materials and processing challenges in silicon crystal growth and wafer production for Starlink solar cells. Starlink, our revolutionary satellite constellation, will deliver low-latency broadband internet worldwide. We are committed to offering access to high-speed internet to customers.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in materials science, chemical engineering, or a STEM field.
• 5+ years of experience in semiconductor crystal growth manufacturing, research, or characterization.
• Must be available to work extended hours and weekends as needed.
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 25% time.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree or PhD in materials science, chemical engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years of professional work experience (photovoltaics, semiconductor, or crystal growth sectors preferred).
• Expertise in CZ crystal growth fundamentals, including thermal management, impurity control, and defect mitigation.
• In-depth knowledge of polysilicon feedstock, dopants, crucible materials, and their impact on ingot quality and yield.
• Proficiency in silicon ingot/wafer characterization techniques and equipment, including ICP-MS, GDMS, XRT, SEM/TEM, FTIR, resistivity mapping, and minority carrier lifetime testing (PL).
• Experience with Statistical Process Control (SPC), Design of Experiments (DOE), and manufacturing metrics (e.g., CPK, yield, OEE) in production environments.
• Demonstrated track record in developing new processes, improving efficiencies (e.g., pull rates, purity >9N), and successfully transferring to production in a rapidly growing, fast-paced environment.
• Proven cross-functional leadership skills, with experience aligning diverse teams to achieve shared technology goals.

Responsibilities

• Own the full lifecycle of equipment specification, validation, and process development for silicon ingot and wafer production.
• Specify and implement in-process and off-line metrology tools for quality control.
• Develop silicon ingot and wafer quality specifications; conduct testing and performance evaluation to ensure specifications are met.
• Lead root cause failure investigations to resolve process issues.
• Push material and crystal growth process limits to enable higher PV efficiency.
• Collaborate with leadership and stakeholders to drive scale-up plans from R&D to production of silicon ingots and wafers.

What This Job Offers

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