Physical Vapor Deposition Researcher - Associate Engineer II

Blue Origin; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 75,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Blue Origin in Seattle seeks a hands-on thin-film deposition engineer within the Advanced Concepts and Enterprise Engineering (ACE) team. You will operate thermal evaporation, co-evaporation, and sputtering systems to build thin-film layers for photovoltaic devices.

You will run experiments, collect and analyze data, maintain equipment, and document results in research-grade notebooks, contributing to DOE campaigns and process improvements.

Responsibilities

• Operate thermal evaporation, co-evaporation, and sputtering systems to deposit thin-film layers per established recipes and DOE plans
• Perform routine film characterization (thickness measurement, profilometry, 4-point probe, optical transmission, XRD sample prep)
• Maintain vacuum deposition equipment including source changes, chamber cleaning, pump maintenance, and substrate fixture preparation
• Record detailed experimental data and maintain lab notebooks to research-grade documentation standards
• Analyze process data and present results to the team, identifying trends and proposing recipe modifications
• Support DOE campaigns by preparing substrates, executing run matrices, and compiling results
• Assist with

Job description

Application close date:

Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the requisition is closed.

At Blue Origin, we envision millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. We're working to develop reusable, safe, and low-cost space vehicles and systems within a culture of safety, collaboration, and inclusion. Join our team of problem solvers as we add new chapters to the history of spaceflight!

This role is part of Advanced Concepts and Enterprise Engineering (ACE), supporting Blue Origin's mission of millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. The team fosters innovation and drives engineering workflows of the future, shared solutions and standards, simplicity and lower costs, and manufacturable design.

Working with PVD lead you will execute and refine physical vapor deposition processes (thermal evaporation, co-evaporation, sputtering) to produce high-quality thin films for advanced photovoltaic devices. You will run experiments, collect and analyze data, maintain equipment, and contribute to process improvement. This is a hands-on role with significant time in the lab operating vacuum systems, performing film characterization, and iterating on process recipes.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Operate thermal evaporation, co-evaporation, and sputtering systems to deposit thin-film layers per established recipes and DOE plans
• Perform routine film characterization (thickness measurement, profilometry, 4-point probe, optical transmission, XRD sample prep)
• Maintain vacuum deposition equipment including source changes, chamber cleaning, pump maintenance, and substrate fixture preparation
• Record detailed experimental data and maintain lab notebooks to research-grade documentation standards
• Analyze process data and present results to the team, identifying trends and proposing recipe modifications
• Support DOE campaigns by preparing substrates, executing run matrices, and compiling results
• Assist with