Process Engineer

Tandem PV; Fremont (CA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Tandem PV seeks a Process Engineer to advance thin-film vacuum deposition processes from R&D through pilot manufacturing. You will design DOEs, analyze results, and help scale deposition tools while collaborating with device fabrication and equipment teams.

The role requires a STEM degree with hands-on PVD/CVD experience, strong data-analysis skills, and the ability to work independently in a fast-paced startup.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM field or equivalent hands-on experience.
• Hands-on vacuum thin-film deposition experience (PVD/CVD).
• Ability to analyze data, create clear plots, and draw conclusions using Excel/Sheets and Python/R/MATLAB/JMP/Origin.

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 deposition tools.
• Troubleshoot hardware and process issues and stabilize process windows.
• Perform preventive maintenance on deposition and metrology tools.
• Present results to the process engineering team and leadership.
• Collaborate on experiment planning and handoffs.
• Draft SOPs, run logs, and experimental logs.

Skills

Data analysis

Experiment design

DOE design

Independent worker

Education

Bachelor's degree in a STEM field

Tools

Excel

Google Sheets

Python

R

MATLAB

JMP

Origin

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. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply.