Chemical / Materials Engineer – Space Solar

Starpath Robotics Inc.; Hawthorne, Northern (CA, KY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity package

Health/dental/vision coverage

PTO

Job summary

Starpath Robotics Inc. is seeking a Chemical / Materials Engineer for the Starlight Solar team inLos Angeles (Hawthorne), CA. You will work with senior chemists on chemistries behind solar cells and encapsulation Systems, translating bench-scale chemistry into scalable manufacturing.

You will run experiments, characterize materials, and help develop processes across polymer encapsulation, barrier systems, and device performance, with a focus on reliability in aerospace environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, applied physics, or a related discipline.
• 1+ years of hands-on experience with thin-film photovoltaic, optoelectronic, polymer, or related materials.
• Working knowledge of materials characterization techniques and data interpretation.
• Ability to run experiments, collect data, and draw conclusions from bench work.

Responsibilities

• Support development and optimization of chemistries across cell materials, polymer encapsulation, and barrier systems.
• Run experiments, characterize materials, and analyze data to inform decisions.
• Build and maintain lab workflows and sample-tracking for fast iteration.
• Characterize materials with XRD, XPS, FTIR, DSC, TGA, SEM, and related tests.
• Collaborate with senior chemists on root-cause investigations linking chemistry to performance.
• Assist scale-up of bench chemistry into stable manufacturing processes.
• Contribute to environmental stability strategies against moisture, oxygen, UV, and radiation.
• Maintain lab safety, inventory, and contamination control.
• Streamline chemistries by reducing steps and overhead where possible.

Skills

Laboratory experiments

Materials characterization

Data analysis

Process optimization

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in chemistry/chemical engineering/materials science

Master's degree preferred

Tools

XRD

XPS

FTIR

DSC

TGA

SEM

IV/EQE

Job description

Chemical / Materials Engineer – Space Solar

Position Details

Location: Los Angeles (Hawthorne), CA
Employment Type: Full-time
Department: Starlight Solar
Travel: Occasional

About Starpath

Starpath develops and manufactures the technologies that will enable humans to live on the Moon and Mars. Today, we are building robotic systems that locally produce the essential commodities a lunar civilization will require at extreme scale: water, power, and oxygen. Our ultimate goal is to build and operate a self-sustaining city on Mars.

The Role

The Starlight team is focused on dramatically improving space solar power to support Starpath's core mission and the greater space economy. Starlight manufactures the lowest cost and highest performance space solar ever, which will power the majority of new satellites built on Earth and all of Starpath's equipment on the Moon and Mars.

As a Chemical / Materials Engineer on the Starlight team, you will work alongside our senior chemists on the materials and chemistries behind our solar cells and encapsulation systems. You'll support development, characterization, and scale-up work across cell chemistry, polymer encapsulation, and barrier systems - running experiments, building process workflows, and translating bench-scale chemistry into stable, reproducible manufacturing.

Responsibilities

• Support development and optimization of chemistries and processes across cell materials, polymer encapsulation, and barrier systems

• Run experiments, characterize materials, and analyze data to inform chemistry and process decisions

• Build and maintain lab workflows, sample tracking, and characterization pipelines that support fast iteration

• Perform materials and device characterization using techniques such as XRD, XPS, FTIR, DSC, TGA, SEM, photoluminescence, IV, and stability/degradation testing

• Partner with senior chemists on root-cause investigations connecting chemistry to device and encapsulation performance

• Support scale-up of bench-level chemistry into stable, reproducible processes on the manufacturing line

• Contribute to environmental stability strategies - moisture, oxygen, thermal, UV, and radiation tolerance

• Maintain lab safety, chemical inventory, and contamination control practices

• Push back on unnecessary complexity - simplify chemistries, reduce process steps, and cut overhead wherever it doesn't add value

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, applied physics, or a related discipline

• 1+ years of hands-on experience with thin-film photovoltaic, optoelectronic, polymer, or related materials (internship and academic research applicable)

• Working knowledge of materials characterization techniques and the ability to interpret chemical, thermal, and electrical data

• Demonstrated ability to run experiments, collect and analyze data, and draw conclusions from bench work

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in a relevant discipline

• Direct experience with thin-film PV, OLED, OPV, or related solution-processed optoelectronic materials

• Hands-on experience with polymer chemistry - encapsulants, adhesives, barrier films, or bonded joints

• Experience with solution-processed deposition methods (spin coating, blade coating, slot-die coating) or polymer curing and lamination

• Proficiency with common characterization techniques - XRD, XPS, FTIR, DSC, TGA, SEM, AFM, photoluminescence, IV, EQE

• Experience translating bench chemistry to larger-area or pilot-scale processes

• Familiarity with glovebox operations, cleanroom protocols, and chemical safety

• Experience using Python, MATLAB, or comparable tools for data analysis

• Exposure to aerospace, space, or other high-reliability hardware environments

Compensation & Benefits

• Location: Los Angeles (Hawthorne), CA

• Competitive salary plus equity package; compensation scales with candidate experience

• PTO & health/dental/vision coverage included

EAR REQUIREMENTS:

• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Equal Opportunity

Starpath is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.