Solar Cell Materials R&D Specialist

SpaceX; Bastrop (TX); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

SpaceX is seeking a Materials R&D Specialist to stand up and operate insourced solar cell manufacturing processes from silicon ingot growth to cell metrology. You will independently execute processing, characterization, and equipment work, propose experimental plans, and help transfer stable methods to production.

You will partner with engineering to develop and qualify processes, write SOPs, and train technicians as methods scale to manufacturing, ensuring safety and meticulous data

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in materials science, chemistry, chemical engineering, or another STEM discipline; or a minimum of 4 years of hands‑on laboratory experience (internship, co‑op, and relevant academic laboratory coursework are applicable)
• Hands‑on experience in semiconductor or photovoltaic manufacturing, silicon crystal growth, wafer manufacturing, materials characterization, or a similar laboratory or manufacturing environment
• Experience using and maintaining materials‑characterization or process equipment (e.g., microscopy, spectroscopy, electrical or optical metrology, wet benches, or related equipment)
• Demonstrate ability to run processing and experimental methods independently, analyze data, and determine the cause of irregular results
• Experience writing SOPs, training documents, or work instructions, and training others to follow them
• Experience handling hazardous chemicals safely
• Experience installing, calibrating, and maintaining process or characterization equipment
• Strong attention to detail and ability to follow complex procedures
• Excellent communication skills and cross‑functional collaboration abilities

Responsibilities

• Partner with engineering to bring processes and equipment online and to drive process development, equipment qualification, and test method development from silicon ingot growth through wafering and cell metrology
• Independently perform routine and non-routine processing and experimental methods for crystal growth, wafer fabrication, and/or cell metrology; identify next steps and recommend complete process plans to engineers
• Identify and put in place new processing methods, standards, and equipment, including the required documentation; make practical improvements to lab and line operations
• Commission, install, calibrate, maintain, and troubleshoot process and metrology equipment; diagnose issues that affect process or test results and work with engineering and OEMs to correct them
• Perform hands‑on materials work such as preparing seeds and hot‑zone components for crystal growth, wafer processing, and preparing samples for characterization and production trials
• Execute DOEs and process trials covering recipe development, thermal management, impurity and defect control, contamination control, and supplier material evaluation
• Perform silicon ingot, wafer, and cell characterization (e.g., lifetime, resistivity, FTIR, microscopy) and keep lab equipment maintained and calibrated
• Document procedures and data so work is repeatable and traceable; write SOPs, training documents, and work instructions; train production technicians and other team members

Skills

Semiconductor/manufacturing experience

Materials characterization

Experiment design/DOE

Lab documentation & SOPs

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Education

Bachelor's in materials science / chemistry / chemical engineering or STEM

4+ years hands-on lab experience

Tools

Microscopy

Spectroscopy

Wafer processing equipment

Metrology instrumentation

Job description

SpaceX is seeking a Materials R&D Specialist to stand up and operate insourced solar cell manufacturing processes from silicon ingot growth to cell metrology. You will independently execute processing, characterization, and equipment work, propose experimental plans, and help transfer stable methods to production.

You will partner with engineering to develop and qualify processes, write SOPs, and train technicians as methods scale to manufacturing, ensuring safety and meticulous data