PVD Equipment Engineer, Solar Cells (Starlink)
Core
Own PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition/sputtering) equipment for manufacturing silicon heterojunction solar cells at massive scale for Starlink satellites and Starship missions.
Role type
Senior IC PVD Equipment Engineer
Builds
High-throughput PVD tools for heterojunction silicon solar cell production lines
Domain
Aerospace / Solar manufacturing / Vacuum systems
Required skills
PVD/sputtering equipment ownership, vacuum systems, RF/DC power supplies, gas delivery, temperature control, root cause analysis, preventive maintenance, statistical process control, cleanroom safety, project management
Preferred skills
Heterojunction (HJT) solar cell manufacturing, 300mm fab experience, throttle valve PID tuning, helium leak checking, electro-pneumatic robot systems, target bonding/life management, scaling equipment to high volume, JMP/Minitab proficiency, aerospace reliability standards
Technologies
PVD tools, sputtering cathodes, RF/DC generators, mass flow controllers, CDA controlled valving, electro-pneumatic robots, vacuum chambers
Responsibilities
Install, qualify, maintain, and improve high-throughput PVD equipment; drive equipment reliability and uptime; develop preventive and predictive maintenance strategies; lead root cause analysis on equipment issues; partner with process engineers on new requirements; evaluate next-generation high-throughput tools; work with vendors on design improvements; establish equipment performance metrics; ensure compliance with cleanroom and safety standards; analyze production processes from a physics-based approach.
Seniority
Senior, hands-on IC