Sr. Materials Engineer, Silicon Wafer Engineering (Starlink)
Core
Technical owner for wafer quality and production readiness, solving materials and processing challenges in silicon wafer production for Starlink solar cells.
Role type
Senior IC materials engineer (silicon wafer manufacturing)
Builds
Space-grade silicon wafers for Starlink satellite solar cells
Domain
Semiconductor manufacturing / Space industry
Deliverable
production ML models | product features | dashboards & analysis | research | client delivery | infrastructure | physical/clinical work
Required skills
silicon materials science, semiconductor defect mechanisms, surface chemistry, stress and fracture mechanics, silicon ingot slicing and cleaning processes, equipment commissioning and qualification, contamination analysis, crystal damage analysis, wafer bulk and surface characterization, statistical process control, DOE, data-driven yield analysis
Preferred skills
photovoltaics or compound semiconductor sector experience, scaling processes from R&D to high-volume manufacturing, cross-functional leadership
Technologies
ICP-MS, TXRF, SIMS, FTIR, GC-MS, SEM, resistivity mapping, minority carrier lifetime testing (PL)
Responsibilities
Lead initial equipment selection and commissioning for wafer slicing, cleaning, degumming, and inspection; Own the initial development and qualification of wafer processes; Qualify supplier materials to ensure contamination-free wafers; Correlate metrology data to device performance and reliability; Drive defect reduction through root-cause analysis and continuous process optimization; Support capacity expansion and factory layout decisions; Provide technical leadership and mentoring to junior engineers and technicians
Seniority
Senior, hands-on IC