Equipment Engineer, Wet Process

T1 Energy Inc.; Georgia; On-site; USD 85,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

T1 Energy is building a TOPCon solar-cell fab in Rockdale, Texas. As an Equipment Engineer you’ll own a set of wet chemical tools from install through high-volume production, spending most of your day at the tool and making engineering calls to keep it running.

This on-site, day-shift role supports a 24/7 fab with on-call rotations. You’ll develop PMs, procedures, fixes, and train technicians, while working with EHS and Process Engineering to optimize bath life and chemical-change-out.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, or Mechatronics Engineering or an associate with hands-on experience.
• 3+ years hands-on equipment engineering in semiconductor, solar, or high-volume manufacturing.
• Hands-on repair of wet bench, wet etch, wet strip, or texturing tools (pumps, valves, heaters, filtration, wafer handling).
• Component-level troubleshooting from electrical schematics, pneumatic drawings, P&IDs, and PLC/HMI diagnostics.
• Track record of eliminating a chronic equipment failure, not just repairing it.
• Safe working with hazardous chemicals, chemical‑compatible materials (quartz, PVDF, PTFE, PFA), and LOTO.

Responsibilities

• Own OEE, availability, MTBF, and MTTR for your toolset.
• Be first on the tool when it goes down; diagnose, repair, and restore it.
• Close root causes on chronic failures using 8D, FMEA, and Pareto analysis.
• Analyze alarm histories, maintenance records, and tool data to spot failure trends.
• Own the PM schedule and refine vendor PM procedures; set critical-spares levels.
• Maintain interlocks, leak detection, and exhaust/ scrubber interfaces with HF, NaOH, and HCl with EHS.
• Collaborate with Process Engineering on bath life, chemical change-out, and concentration control hardware.
• Document procedures and train technicians on install, SAT, and ramp to production.

Skills

Hands-on engineering

Semiconductor fab

Troubleshooting

Chemical safety

Education

Engineering degree or higher

Tools

PLC/HMI diagnostics

P&ID interpretation

Wet bench tools

Job description

T1 Energy is bringing solar manufacturing back to the U.S. by building a domestic solar supply chain. Our mission is to invigorate America with scalable, reliable, and low-cost energy. Our fully operational 5GW solar module facility in Wilmer, Texas, can manufacture more than 20,000 modules every 24 hours. By the time you finish reading this paragraph, we will have produced two solar panels that will power American homes and fuel domestic AI. We're focused on building advanced American manufacturing and we're passionate about engineering a better future filled with abundant energy.

The Role

G2 is T1 Energy’s new TOPCon solar cell fab in Rockdale, Texas. Every cell we make starts in wet process: texture, rear polish, and glass removal. When these tools stop, the fab stops. We’re hiring Equipment Engineers to keep them running.

You’ll own a set of wet chemical tools, from install through high-volume production. The set covers batch texture, RCA-clean rear polish benches, and inline BSG and PSG removal strip tools. It’s a hands-on role: most of your day is at the tool, and you’ll be trusted to make the engineering calls that keep it running.

This is an on-site role at G2 in Rockdale, Texas, day shift supporting a 24/7 fab, with an on-call rotation for critical tool-downs, and cleanroom and sub-fab work in full chemical PPE. You’ll be building a fab from the ground up: your PMs, your procedures, and your fixes become the standard, and the calls on your tools are yours to make.

What You'll Do

• Own OEE, availability, MTBF, and MTTR for your toolset.
• Be first on the tool when it goes down. Make it safe, diagnose the failed component, and restore it. When you escal to the vendor, bring clear data.
• Close root cause on chronic failures, wafer breakage, and leaks using 8D, FMEA, and Pareto, and verify the fixes hold.
• Analyze alarm histories, maintenance records, and tool data in JMP, SQL, Python, or Excel to spot failure trends before they cause downtime.
• Own the PM schedule, refine vendor PM procedures, and set critical-spares levels, then adjust both from failure history.
• Keep interlocks, leak detection, and exhaust and scrubber interfaces working on tools running HF, NaOH, and HCl. You’ll do this together with EHS.
• Work with Process Engineering on bath life, chemical change-out, and concentration-control hardware.
• Bring tools through install, SAT, and qualification into production. Document procedures and train the technicians who run them.

Who You Are

• A hands-on equipment engineer who would rather be at the tool than in a meeting.
• Systematic about failure: you fix the cause, not the symptom, and you check that it held.
• Decisive when a tool is down and the line is waiting.
• A straight communicator with process, production, facilities, EHS, and vendors.
• Comfortable and careful working around aggressive process chemistries.

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, or Mechatronics Engineering, or an associate degree with equivalent hands‑on experience.
• 3+ years of hands‑on equipment engineering in semiconductor, solar, or similar high-volume manufacturing.
• Hands‑on repair of wet bench, wet etch, wet strip, or texturing tools, including pumps, valves, heaters, filtration, and wafer handling.
• Component‑level troubleshooting from electrical schematics, pneumatic drawings, P&IDs, and PLC/HMI diagnostics.
• A track record of eliminating a chronic equipment failure, not just repairing it again.
• Safe working practice with hazardous chemicals, chemical‑compatible materials (quartz, PVDF, PTFE, PFA), and LOTO.
• Preferred: solar cell (TOPCon, PERC, or HJT) or semiconductor fab experience.
• Preferred: greenfield tool install, SAT, and ramp experience.

The T1 Way

We move fast, expect accountability, and treat people with respect. We also have a no-jerks policy: we don't tolerate big egos, bad behavior or "that's not my job attitude". Be sharp, be honest, be human. If you can hold the line and have a sense of humor, you'll fit right in.

T1 Energy is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants and do not discriminate on the basis of any legally protected characteristics.