Process Engineer

Tandem PV, Inc.; Fremont (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity options

Competitive benefits

Dynamic startup environment

Job summary

Tandem PV, Inc. in Fremont is seeking a Process Engineer to advance thin-film vacuum deposition technologies for pilot manufacturing and R&D. You will design experiments, analyze results, and help scale deposition processes from development to high-volume production.

The role requires hands-on experience with PVD/CVD techniques, DOE execution, data analysis, and strong collaboration with cross-functional teams. We offer a dynamic startup environment focused on sustainable energy and growth.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM field or equivalent hands-on experience.
• Hands-on vacuum thin-film deposition experience (PVD/CVD: sputtering, evaporation, ALD).
• Ability to analyze data with plots and draw conclusions; proficient in Excel/Sheets and Python, R, MATLAB, JMP, or Origin.
• Careful, methodical approach to running experiments and recording outcomes, including deviations from plan.
• Able to work independently in a fast-paced startup with emergent priorities and in a team environment.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute DOEs on R&D and pilot tools to study parameter effects.
• Analyze data, summarize findings, and plan follow-up experiments.
• Characterize films with ellipsometry, UV-Vis, and four-point probe.
• Support scale-up from R&D to pilot to high-volume manufacturing.
• Assist with bring-up and qualification of new deposition tools.
• Troubleshoot hardware and process issues with engineers to stabilize process windows.
• Perform routine maintenance on deposition and metrology tools.
• Present results and recommendations to the process engineering team and leadership.
• Collaborate with device fabrication, characterization, and equipment teams on planning and handoffs.
• Draft SOPs, run logs, and experimental logs.

Skills

DOE design & execution

Data analysis & plotting

Independent work

Team collaboration

Maintenance & troubleshooting

Education

Bachelor's degree in STEM or equivalent

Tools

PVD

CVD

Sputtering

Evaporation

ALD

Job description

At Tandem PV, we are a team of people who are passionate about building a more sustainable world by bringing cost effective solar panels onto the market. We’re scaling metal-halide perovskite solar technology to make best-in-class mechanically stacked tandem modules. We have built efficient, durable cells, monolithic multi-cell submodules, and packaged modules with our scalable, low-cost process. Our next focus is expanding our team to work in our new pilot manufacturing facility.

About the Role

The Process Engineer supports development of thin-film vacuum deposition processes. Working with senior process engineers, the role is responsible for the complete experimental cycle: depositing films, characterizing them, analyzing the results, and applying those results to the next round of experiments. Work spans both R&D and pilot manufacturing tools according to business needs.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute DOEs on R&D and pilot manufacturing tools, varying process parameters to determine their effect on film properties

• Analyze experimental data, summarize findings, and contribute to the design of follow-up experiments

• Characterize films using standard thin-film metrology, including ellipsometry, UV-Vis, and four-point probe

• Support scale-up of deposition processes from R&D to pilot to high-volume manufacturing

• Assist with bring-up and qualification of newly installed deposition tools

• Troubleshoot hardware and process issues, and work with engineers to stabilize process windows

• Perform routine preventive maintenance on deposition and metrology tools, including chamber cleans, source and target changes, and leak checks

• Present experimental results and recommendations to the process engineering team and leadership

• Collaborate with device fabrication, characterization, and equipment teams on experiment planning, sample handoffs, and interpreting downstream results

• Draft standard operating procedures (SOPs), run logs, and experimental logs

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM field, or equivalent hands-on experience

• Hands-on experience in industry or academia with vacuum thin-film deposition — PVD and CVD techniques such as sputtering, evaporation, or ALD

• Ability to independently analyze experimental data — take a dataset, produce clear plots, and draw supportable conclusions. Requires proficiency with Excel or Google Sheets, statistics, and data analysis tools such as Python, R, MATLAB, JMP, or Origin.

• Careful, methodical approach to running experiments and recording what actually happened, including deviations from plan

• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced startup environment with emergent priorities and frequent troubleshooting

• Must be able to work independently in a team environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Working knowledge of vacuum technology, thin-film growth mechanisms, and plasma fundamentals

• Metrology experience — ellipsometry, four-point probe, transport, profilometry, XRD, XRF, SEM, XPS

• Exposure to design of experiments (DOE) or statistical process control (SPC)

• Familiarity with perovskite photovoltaics, semiconductors, or thin-film device stacks

• Experience with large-area glass coating

Tandem PV uses perovskite & silicon mechanically-stacked tandems to upgrade silicon solar panels, sharply decreasing installed systems costs, significantly increasing module manufacturing profit margins, and opening up vast new solar markets in the US and worldwide. TPV was co-founded by Stanford PhDs Colin Bailie and Chris Eberspacher; is advised by industry experts from Corning, First Solar, Vivint Solar, and Kateeva; has raised more than $50M in Series A funding. We were recently recognized as the Best Pre-Commercial Venture of 2025 by the Industry Growth Forum (IGF)

We are a team of people who are passionate about building a more sustainable world by delivering a new generation of solar panels to the market. We are constantly growing and are always looking for dedicated, hardworking, and empathetic teammates.

Tandem PV is an equal opportunity employer.