Materials Engineer - Ingot, Wafer & Solar Cell Production

InvestedintheMission; Bastrop (TX); On-site; USD 95,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

SpaceX seeks a Materials Engineer for Starlink to own consumables across ingot, wafer, and solar cell manufacturing lines. You will partner with supply chain, define material specs, and drive qualification campaigns from development to production readiness.

The role requires first-principles problem solving, strong collaboration with process, quality, and production engineering, and a focus on safety and quality on the factory floor.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in materials science, chemical engineering, or a STEM field.

Responsibilities

• Own consumable materials used across ingot, wafer, and/or solar cell manufacturing lines.
• Partner with supply chain to identify, evaluate, and qualify suppliers for critical process materials.
• Define material requirements, specifications, and acceptance criteria with cross-functional teams.
• Plan and execute material qualification campaigns including characterization and production-readiness assessments.
• Drive root-cause analysis to first principles and implement durable corrective actions.
• Develop deep technical understanding of material chemistry, microstructure, and process interactions.
• Identify opportunities to improve material performance, cost, yield, and reliability.
• Document qualification results, material specifications, and best practices.
• Communicate status, risks, and recommendations clearly to leadership.
• Champion safety and quality in all materials handling, testing, and production activities.

Skills

Materials engineering

First-principles problem solving

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in materials science/chemical engineering or STEM

Master's or PhD in materials science/chemical engineering

Tools

SEM-EDS

XRD

FTIR

Optical microscopy

Mechanical testing

Job description

SpaceX seeks a Materials Engineer for Starlink to own consumables across ingot, wafer, and solar cell manufacturing lines. You will partner with supply chain, define material specs, and drive qualification campaigns from development to production readiness.

The role requires first-principles problem solving, strong collaboration with process, quality, and production engineering, and a focus on safety and quality on the factory floor.