Process Engineer (Cell)

Qcells Georgia, Inc.; Cartersville (GA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Qcells Georgia, Inc. in Cartersville, Georgia is seeking a Process Engineer (Cell) focused on metallization to optimize solar cell contacts and process reliability.

You will define parameters for printing, drying, and firing, troubleshoot metallization performance, and drive improvements in efficiency and quality across mass production. The role requires hands-on experience with screen printing, firing profiles, and statistical analysis of process data, with opportunities to develop and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or related field.
• Bachelor’s degree with industrial/research experience in above fields.
• Minimum 1 year of experience in metallization process or paste related industry.
• Strong understanding of metallization process fundamentals, including paste rheology and firing behavior.

Responsibilities

• Process Maintenance: establish standard parameters for metallization, drying and firing.
• Process Optimization: improve contact properties and sheet resistance; ensure pattern accuracy.
• Process Development: research metallization trends and develop plans to improve efficiency and quality.
• Process Management: analyze and troubleshoot process performance; reduce material consumption.
• New Product Integration: evaluate process settings for new production models and transition to mass production.
• Process Standardization: provide SOPs and standard documents; define process environments.

Skills

Metallization fundamentals

Screen printing parameters

Firing profile behavior

DOE (Design of Experiments)

Statistical data analysis

SQL data analysis

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics

Bachelor’s degree with industrial/research experience in above fields

Tools

Screen printing equipment

Firing furnace equipment

Cross-section Analyzer

SEM

EDX

Job description

Summary

Cell Process Team maintains and develops manufacturing process mainly to enhance overall production performance, including product characteristics, yield rate, production cost, etc. Process Engineer (Metallization) is responsible for proper metallization process performance, which affects conductivity and contact resistance of solar cells. Metallization process in solar cell production consists of several different steps. Printing process generates electrical contacts to facilitate flow of electrical current by pressing metallic materials onto solar cell laser pattern. Drying and Firing process provides high temperature treatment to increase adhesion between silicon wafer and metallic electrodes.

Process Engineer (Cell)

Cell Process Team maintains and develops manufacturing process mainly to enhance overall production performance, including product characteristics, yield rate, production cost, etc. Process Engineer (Metallization) is responsible for proper metallization process performance, which affects conductivity and contact resistance of solar cells. Metallization process in solar cell production consists of several different steps. Printing process generates electrical contacts to facilitate flow of electrical current by pressing metallic materials onto solar cell laser pattern. Drying and Firing process provides high temperature treatment to increase adhesion between silicon wafer and metallic electrodes.

Responsibilities

• Process Maintenance
  • Establish standard parameters of metallization process, such as printing speed, paste laydown, or screen lifetime.
  • Establish standard parameters of drying and firing process, such as furnace temperature, temperature profile, or heat capacity.
  • Analyze issues regarding solar-cell characteristics and production quality caused by metallization process and establish preventive countermeasures.
• Process Optimization
  • Optimize contact properties and sheet resistance.
  • Confirm optimal process performance with product characteristics, such as pattern accuracy, aspect ratio, or pattern adhesion, measured with proper inspection device.
• Process Development
  • Research metallization process trend of state-of-the-art solar cell manufacturing technology.
  • Establish development plans of metallization process to enhance solar-cell efficiency and production quality.
• Process Management
  • Analyze and troubleshoot process performance and establish improvement plans.
  • Reduce raw material consumption, such as metallic paste and screens.
  • Improve process impact on cell quality.
• New Product Integration
  • Evaluate process setting and reliability of new production model in mass-production standpoint.
  • Manage transition process of new production model testing to mass-production.
• Process Development
  • Implement process development strategies, such as solar-cell efficiency improvement, manufacturing cost reduction, process material implementation, etc.
  • Research foundational technology through process analysis and testing.
  • Develop and test mass production reliability of proprietary technology.
• Process Standardization
  • Provide and train Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and Out-of-Control Action Plans (OCAP).
  • Decide specification of process condition, raw materials and etc.
  • Define process standard documents, such as Parameter Sheets (PAS) or Bill of Materials (BOM).
  • Establish standard process environment based on quality control standard.
  • Modify process setting based on solar cell quality requirements.
• All other duties assigned by management or that require immediate attention by Team member.

Required Qualifications

• Educational Background:
  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
  • Bachelor’s degree with industrial/research experience in above fields.
• Experience:
  • Minimum 1 years of experience in metallization process or paste related industry
• Technical Knowledge:
  • Basic understanding in electrical and chemical characteristics of semiconductor
  • Strong understanding of metallization process fundamentals, including paste rheology and thixotropy, screen printing parameters, and firing profile behavior.
  • Experience with screen printing and firing furnace equipment operation, process optimization, and troubleshooting.
  • Knowledge of metallic paste systems and contact formation, including Ag and Al pastes and fire-through behavior on dielectric films.
  • Analysis skills of SQL to interpret data and derive conclusions

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in solar cell, semiconductor, display manufacturing, or related industry
• Ability to analyze process data and identify process-to-performance correlations using statistical or data analysis tools.
• Experience with DOE (Design of Experiments), SPC, and process optimization is preferred.
• Experience with micro analysis tools, such as Cross-section Analyzer, SEM, EDX and etc.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Hanwha Q CELLS provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics.