R&D Equipment Technician, Maintenance & Troubleshooting

First Solar Inc.; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 54,000 - 82,000; Full time

Job summary

First Solar Inc. in Santa Clara, CA is seeking a Development Engineer Technician to support installation, qualification, and maintenance of R&D equipment.

The role requires troubleshooting, rapid repair, and implementing improvements to increase throughput and yield on a high-uptime production line. The candidate should have strong electrical, mechanical, and process knowledge, experience with vacuum deposition tools or robotic automation, and be able to work a shift including weekends on-call.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or equivalent with 14 years of relevant experience or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer Technician II at First Solar.
• Associate’s Degree in engineering or similar technical discipline with 10 years of relevant technical experience or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer Technician II at First Solar.
• Bachelor’s Degree in an engineering discipline or similar technical discipline with 5 years of relevant technical experience or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer Technician II at First Solar.
• Strongly preferred: >4 years as a mechanical or electrical technician; >4 years on vacuum deposition tools (PVD, ALD) or robotic automation systems; experience supporting high-uptime production with off-shift coverage.

Responsibilities

• Solve day-to-day production, equipment, and process problems.
• Perform on-site service and repair of equipment.
• Identify throughput, uptime, yield and product performance improvements.
• Set up and maintains gauges, flow meters, and auxiliary equipment like gas purifiers, chillers and pumps.
• Provides on-call support and participates in weekend rotation.

Skills

Safety mindset

Electrical knowledge

Mechanical knowledge

Troubleshooting

Vacuum Deposition

Deposition/Etching

Thermal treatment

Robotics automation

Self-directed

Communication skills

RnD troubleshooting

Administrative skills

MS Office

Problem analysis

On-call availability

Equipment maintenance

PLC/HMI diagnostics

Lockout/Tagout

Education

High School Diploma or equivalent

Associate’s Degree in engineering or similar technical discipline

Bachelor’s Degree in engineering or similar technical discipline

Tools

Vacuum Deposition tools

Robot automation systems

Job description

First Solar Inc. in Santa Clara, CA is seeking a Development Engineer Technician to support installation, qualification, and maintenance of R&D equipment.

The role requires troubleshooting, rapid repair, and implementing improvements to increase throughput and yield on a high-uptime production line. The candidate should have strong electrical, mechanical, and process knowledge, experience with vacuum deposition tools or robotic automation, and be able to work a shift including weekends on-call.