PECVD Solar Cell Process Engineer — Scale High-Efficiency SHJ

Spacex; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

SpaceX is seeking a PECVD Process Engineer for Starlink solar cells to lead the development and scaling of plasma-enhanced deposition processes. You will drive equipment qualification, recipe development, and process optimization to achieve high-efficiency SHJ cells for space applications.

The role requires strong hands-on experience in PECVD, vacuum systems, and thin-film characterization, with a focus on bridging design to manufacturing in a high-volume environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline.
• 1+ years of experience in system design, analysis, and/or system implementation (internship and extracurricular experience is applicable).
• Master’s degree or Ph.D. in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, physics, or related technical discipline.

Responsibilities

• Design, qualify and optimize PECVD processes for SHJ passivation and doped layers with uniform films and low defectivity.
• Lead tool and material development: gas chemistry, plasma power, pressure, temperature, and electrode gap for high-efficiency cells.
• Own chamber conditioning: seasoning, plasma clean recipes, and intervals to control particles and uptime.
• Collaborate with CVD Equipment Engineering for tool qualification and throughput improvements.
• Develop and maintain manufacturing processes, equipment, technologies, and facilities.
• Analyze production with first-principles physics-based approaches.
• Design experiments using DOE to improve optical and electrical quality of solar cells.
• Characterize defects and determine root causes to improve yields.
• Plan budgets and cost/benefit analyses for new processes or machines.
• Lead machine activation and testing with a small team of engineers and technicians.
• Prepare content for technical design reviews and own production outcomes.

Skills

PECVD process engineering

SHJ passivation

Vacuum & plasma physics

DOE & statistics

Cross-functional teamwork

Thin-film silicon

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Master's or PhD preferred

Tools

CVD equipment

Spectroscopic ellipsometry

Raman spectroscopy

FTIR

Sinton lifetime

Job description

SpaceX is seeking a PECVD Process Engineer for Starlink solar cells to lead the development and scaling of plasma-enhanced deposition processes. You will drive equipment qualification, recipe development, and process optimization to achieve high-efficiency SHJ cells for space applications.

The role requires strong hands-on experience in PECVD, vacuum systems, and thin-film characterization, with a focus on bridging design to manufacturing in a high-volume environment.