Senior Process Engineer

MetOx International, Inc.; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision benefits

401(k) match

Paid parental leave & adoption support

Educational reimbursement

Job summary

MetOx International, Inc. in Houston, TX seeks a Senior Process Engineer specializing in sputtering and thin-film deposition to advance a reel-to-reel manufacturing platform for HTS wire.

You will lead process development, design robust experiments, and partner with Materials, Equipment, Manufacturing, Quality, and Operations to scale manufacturing while improving yield and product performance. The role demands strong data-driven decision making, hands-on process optimization, and mentoring of

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a related engineering or scientific discipline.
• Four years of process engineering or manufacturing engineering experience involving sputtering, physical vapor deposition (PVD), vacuum thin-film deposition, or closely related deposition technologies.
• An advanced degree may be substituted for required experience on a year-for-year basis, depending on relevance and level.
• Demonstrated experience designing and executing statistically driven process improvement experiments.
• Experience analyzing manufacturing data using statistical methods to improve process capability, product quality, and manufacturing performance.
• Demonstrated experience troubleshooting complex manufacturing processes and implementing sustainable corrective actions.

Responsibilities

• Owns the technical development and continuous improvement of sputtering and related thin-film deposition processes supporting MetOx's manufacturing platform.
• Defines process capability improvement strategies that increase throughput, improve film quality, reduce variation, and enhance manufacturing robustness.
• Evaluates emerging deposition technologies, process innovations, and manufacturing approaches to support future product and manufacturing development.
• Provides technical leadership for deposition process performance across development, pilot production, and manufacturing scale-up.
• Designs and executes statistically rigorous experiments to optimize deposition processes, process capability, and manufacturing performance.
• Applies advanced process engineering principles to solve complex challenges involving film deposition, process stability, defect reduction, equipment capability, and yield improvement.
• Establishes operating windows, process controls, and statistical monitoring strategies to ensure repeatable manufacturing performance.
• Utilizes engineering and production data to identify trends, improve process capability, and implement sustainable process improvements.
• Troubleshoots complex manufacturing issues and implements long-term corrective and preventive actions.
• Partners with Manufacturing Engineering, Equipment Engineering, Materials Engineering, Quality, and Operations to successfully transition process improvements into production.
• Develops and maintains process specifications, standard operating procedures, qualification plans, and engineering documentation supporting manufacturing operations.
• Leads updates to process control plans, PFMEAs, and process validation activities.
• Supports manufacturing scale-up through robust process development, qualification, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Owns process engineering projects from problem definition through validation, implementation, and manufacturing handoff.
• Defines project scope, timelines, technical deliverables, and success metrics for process improvement initiatives.
• Leads cross-functional technical reviews while effectively communicating project progress, technical risks, and engineering recommendations.
• Coordinates internal engineering resources and external suppliers to ensure successful project execution.
• Mentors junior engineers and supports the technical development of engineering and manufacturing personnel.
• Promotes structured problem solving, statistical thinking, and engineering best practices across the organization.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills

Statistical analysis

Process optimization

Cross-functional collaboration

Problem solving

Project leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering

Advanced degree (Master's or PhD)

Tools

JMP

Minitab

Python

Job description

Empower Your Future: At MetOx International, we’re pioneering the next era of energy security and abundance through breakthrough superconducting technology. As a Senior Process Engineer specializing in thin-film deposition, you'll help advance one of the world's most sophisticated continuous manufacturing platforms. Your work will directly influence manufacturing yield, process capability, product performance, and the commercialization of next-generation high-temperature superconducting (HTS) wire.

Based at our global headquarters in Houston, TX, the Senior Process Engineer provides technical leadership for sputtering and related thin-film deposition processes supporting MetOx's reel-to-reel manufacturing platform. Working closely with Materials Engineering, Equipment Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, and Operations, this role combines process engineering, statistical analysis, and manufacturing optimization to develop robust, scalable processes capable of supporting commercial-scale production.

Key Responsibilities

Process Technology Leadership

• Owns the technical development and continuous improvement of sputtering and related thin-film deposition processes supporting MetOx's manufacturing platform.
• Defines process capability improvement strategies that increase throughput, improve film quality, reduce variation, and enhance manufacturing robustness.
• Evaluates emerging deposition technologies, process innovations, and manufacturing approaches to support future product and manufacturing development.
• Provides technical leadership for deposition process performance across development, pilot production, and manufacturing scale-up.

Process Development & Optimization

• Designs and executes statistically rigorous experiments to optimize deposition processes, process capability, and manufacturing performance.
• Applies advanced process engineering principles to solve complex challenges involving film deposition, process stability, defect reduction, equipment capability, and yield improvement.
• Establishes operating windows, process controls, and statistical monitoring strategies to ensure repeatable manufacturing performance.
• Utilizes engineering and production data to identify trends, improve process capability, and implement sustainable process improvements.
• Troubleshoots complex manufacturing issues and implements long-term corrective and preventive actions.

Manufacturing Integration

• Partners with Manufacturing Engineering, Equipment Engineering, Materials Engineering, Quality, and Operations to successfully transition process improvements into production.
• Develops and maintains process specifications, standard operating procedures, qualification plans, and engineering documentation supporting manufacturing operations.
• Leads updates to process control plans, PFMEAs, and process validation activities.
• Supports manufacturing scale-up through robust process development, qualification, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Owns process engineering projects from problem definition through validation, implementation, and manufacturing handoff.
• Defines project scope, timelines, technical deliverables, and success metrics for process improvement initiatives.
• Leads cross-functional technical reviews while effectively communicating project progress, technical risks, and engineering recommendations.
• Coordinates internal engineering resources and external suppliers to ensure successful project execution.
• Mentors junior engineers and supports the technical development of engineering and manufacturing personnel.
• Promotes structured problem solving, statistical thinking, and engineering best practices across the organization.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a related engineering or scientific discipline.
• Four years of process engineering or manufacturing engineering experience involving sputtering, physical vapor deposition (PVD), vacuum thin-film deposition, or closely related deposition technologies.
• An advanced degree may be substituted for required experience on a year-for-year basis, depending on relevance and level.
• Demonstrated experience designing and executing statistically driven process improvement experiments.
• Experience analyzing manufacturing data using statistical methods to improve process capability, product quality, and manufacturing performance.
• Demonstrated experience troubleshooting complex manufacturing processes and implementing sustainable corrective actions.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in Engineering or a related scientific discipline applicable to the position.
• Experience supporting high-temperature superconductors (HTS), semiconductor manufacturing, advanced coatings, optical coatings, battery materials, magnetic materials, or other thin-film technologies.
• Experience with reactive sputtering, magnetron sputtering, and biased or ion-assisted processing.
• Experience supporting technology transfer from development into manufacturing.
• Experience leading Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen, or Six Sigma initiatives.
• Experience with Design of Experiments (DOE), Statistical Process Control (SPC), MSA, JMP, Minitab, Python, or other statistical analysis tools.
• Experience with vacuum systems, plasma processing, and thin-film characterization techniques.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

• Deep first-principles understanding of process, vacuum, and electronics relating to sputtered film growth and sidewall coverage. Strong understanding of statistical process control, process capability analysis, Design of Experiments (DOE), and data-driven process optimization.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a rigorous, data-driven approach to engineering decision making.
• Ability to independently lead technical projects while effectively influencing cross-functional engineering and manufacturing teams.
• Excellent communication and technical documentation skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to quality, continuous improvement, and manufacturing excellence.

Physical Demands:

This position requires sitting at a desk and viewing a computer screen for extended periods while working or performing other office tasks. Ability to move around the office, including occasional standing, walking, and bending to retrieve documents, attend meetings, or use office equipment. Some light lifting may be required, up to 20 lbs.

MetOx is proud to offer competitive benefits including:

• Health, dental, and vision available on the first day of the month following your start date
• 401(k) match
• Paid parental leave & adoption assistance
• Educational reimbursement
• And more!

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in MetOx International, Inc.’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in a U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.