Development Engineer I — PV Instrumentation & Testing

First Solar, Inc.; Perrysburg (OH); On-site; USD 68,800 - 98,000; Full time

Job summary

First Solar, Inc. is seeking an experienced engineer to own the uptime, calibration, maintenance, and configuration control of specialized characterization tools.

You will develop light soak test protocols and create SOPs to ensure high‑quality data and reliable measurements. Qualifications include advanced engineering degrees with relevant experience, strong data analysis skills, and the ability to work in a lab/manufacturing setting while improving throughput and understanding PV device

Qualifications

• Familiarity with plant and laboratory operations; safety and quality standards.
• Hands-on experience in laboratory or manufacturing environments.
• Plan, organize, design, and execute experiments with minimal supervision.
• Conduct preliminary data analysis and generate clear reports and procedures.
• Proficiency with MS Office; experience with JMP, SQL, MATLAB or Python for data analysis is a plus.
• Strong problem-solving and troubleshooting abilities with electromechanical systems.
• Solid understanding of PV device physics, thin-film solar technologies, and electrical measurement techniques.
• Read electrical schematics and mechanical drawings; basic knowledge of circuits and PCB design.

Responsibilities

• Identify opportunities to reduce cost and improve performance in measurement processes.
• Provide training to technicians on safe operation and maintenance of measurement tools.
• Maintain cross-functional collaboration and support business needs.
• Install, qualify, and improve equipment to enhance test throughput and measurement performance.
• Other duties as assigned and adapt to changing job descriptions.
• Job description subject to change at any time.

Skills

Safety compliance

Laboratory experience

Experiment design

Data analysis

MS Office proficiency

JMP

SQL

MATLAB

Python

Electromechanical troubleshooting

PV device physics

Electrical schematics reading

Education

Associate degree in engineering

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Master's degree in engineering

Tools

JMP

SQL

MATLAB

Python

Job description

First Solar, Inc. is seeking an experienced engineer to own the uptime, calibration, maintenance, and configuration control of specialized characterization tools.

You will develop light soak test protocols and create SOPs to ensure high‑quality data and reliable measurements. Qualifications include advanced engineering degrees with relevant experience, strong data analysis skills, and the ability to work in a lab/manufacturing setting while improving throughput and understanding PV device