PVD Process Engineer, Solar Cells (Starlink)

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars. PVD PROCESS ENGINEER, SOLAR CELLS (STARLINK) Starlink believes in providing fast, reliable internet to those that need it most. We design, build, and launch the world's largest and most advanced satellite constellation that is capable of delivering high-speed internet to even the most remote locations. As a PVD Process Engineer for our solar cell factory, you will spearhead state of the art production processes for an internal solar cell production line, providing high efficiency and high-quality solar cells for both our latest generation Starlink satellites and for Starship missions to the Moon and Mars. You will work through the life cycle of setting up a greenfield solar cell production plant, including equipment procurement, plant design/layout, equipment commissioning and ramp-up, recipe and process development, and working to develop a world-class production team and environment. As a PVD Process Engineer, you will own the development, optimization, and scaling of Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) processes critical for depositing transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layers, such as ITO, and other thin films essential to high-efficiency SHJ cell performance. You will develop and iterate on the manufacturing processes and recipes to achieve a state-of-the-art silicon cell efficiency, low defect rate and cost, and high reliability cell for space-based applications. Your work will form the backbone of the Starlink network (photons of sunlight in is directly proportional to photons of data out to customers!) and help provide internet to tens of millions of customers all around the world. RESPONSIBILITIES: Design, qualify, and optimize PVD sputtering processes (e.g., DC/RF magnetron sputtering) for SHJ front and back contacts, ensuring uniformity, adhesion, resistivity, and optical transmission at GW-scale volumes Lead process development for new toolsets and materials, including target management, deposition rate optimization, and defect reduction to support state-of-the-art efficiency cells Responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining new and/or improved manufacturing processes, equipment, technologies, and facilities Analyze production processes and machinery from a first principles, physics-based approach Develop experiments to diagnose and correct manufacturing problems, utilizing robust DOE and statistical methodologies Optimize process conditions and materials to improve the optical and electrical quality of solar cells Perform defect characterization and analysis to determine root cause and develop action plans to improve yields Develop project plans, budgets, and cost/benefit analysis for implementation of new processes or machines Own and perform machine activation and testing with a small team of engineers and technicians Prepare detailed content for technical design reviews, and demonstrate extreme ownership of the production outcome of the Starlink solar factory across yield, uptime, and cost BASIC QUALIFICATIONS: Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline 1+ years of experience in chemical engineering design, analysis, and/or system implementation (internship and extracurricular experience is applicable) PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: Master’s degree or Ph.D. in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, environmental, or other STEM discipline 5+ years of hands-on experience in PVD process engineering, preferably in thin-film solar (SHJ, PERC, or CIGS), semiconductor, or display manufacturing Proven track record of scaling PVD processes to high-volume production (>1GW/year equivalent) Strong understanding of vacuum systems, plasma physics, sputtering dynamics, and thin-film characterization techniques (e.g., XRD,