Senior Wet Etch Engineer, TOPCon Solar Cells

T1 Energy; Rockdale (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

T1 Energy in Wilmer, Texas is seeking a Senior Wet Etch Engineer to own the wet chemical processes for TOPCon solar cells at scale. You will develop, qualify, and drive process improvements across texturing, cleaning, and etch steps in a new high-volume fab.

Collaborate with across engineering teams, lead DOE studies, optimize bath chemistries, and manage process tools from installation to production readiness.

Qualifications

• Degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field, or equivalent experience
• 5+ years of hands-on wet process engineering experience in solar cell or semiconductor manufacturing, with a strong preference for TOPCon or other high-efficiency cell technologies
• Deep experience with wet process development, tool qualification, and establishing process baselines and control plans in high-volume manufacturing
• Working knowledge of texturing, cleaning, and etch chemistries and their impact on surface passivation, lifetime, and cell efficiency
• Proficiency with wet process metrology, including reflectance, film thickness, particle and defect inspection, lifetime measurement, and surface analysis techniques
• Strong Design of Experiments skills and statistical analysis capability
• Experience handling hazardous chemicals safely

Responsibilities

• Develop, qualify, and own wet processes for TOPCon cell manufacturing, including saw damage removal, alkaline texturing, rear-side etch and polish, edge isolation, and pre-deposition and pre-diffusion cleans
• Own bath chemistry, concentration control, temperature management, dosing, and bath life for alkaline, acidic, and oxidizing chemistries, including HF, KOH/NaOH, and ozone-based steps
• Optimize BSG, PSG, and polysilicon wrap-around removal, texture quality, reflectance, and surface cleanliness to improve cell efficiency, minority carrier lifetime, and passivation performance
• Qualify inline and batch wet process tools from installation through production readiness, partnering with Equipment, Metrology, and Quality on process matching, particle and metal contamination control, and wafer breakage reduction
• Lead root cause analysis for yield excursions and efficiency losses using a first-principles, physics-based approach, and establish inline metrology and control strategies to drive systematic improvement
• Support 24/7 manufacturing operations through rotations, on-call availability, and rapid response to critical production issues
• Drive next-generation wet chemistry formulations, additives, and process development to reduce cost and improve cell performance

Skills

Wet process

First-principles

DOE statistics

Data-driven

Education

Chemical Engineering

Materials Science

Electrical Engineering

Physics

Job description

T1 Energy in Wilmer, Texas is seeking a Senior Wet Etch Engineer to own the wet chemical processes for TOPCon solar cells at scale. You will develop, qualify, and drive process improvements across texturing, cleaning, and etch steps in a new high-volume fab.

Collaborate with across engineering teams, lead DOE studies, optimize bath chemistries, and manage process tools from installation to production readiness.