Solar Cell Equipment Engineer (Starlink)
SpaceX_Global · Frankfurt, Germany
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.
SOLAR CELL EQUIPMENT ENGINEER (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 Solar Cell Equipment Engineer, you will own production equipment used to manufacture silicon heterojunction solar cells at massive scale. Depending on your experience, you will own one of our core equipment areas: wet chemical texturing and preclean, PECVD, PVD (sputtering), or metallization. You will work closely with the Process Engineering team for your area to ensure world-class equipment performance, reliability, and uptime. While the process team focuses on recipes, film and surface properties, and cell efficiency, you will be the hardware owner responsible for tool availability, stability, and scaling to support our ambitious goals.
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. You will spearhead state of the art production equipment 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.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Work with facilities and process engineering teams to install, qualify, maintain, and continuously improve high-throughput equipment for heterojunction silicon solar cell manufacturing
- Drive equipment reliability and uptime to support very large volume production with minimal downtime. Run experiments and analyze data to improve capacity (UPH), reduce tool-to-tool variation, and improve defect performance
- Develop and execute robust preventive and predictive maintenance strategies, spare parts programs, and tool matching protocols for high-volume manufacturing
- Lead root cause analysis and corrective actions on all equipment-related issues, including vacuum systems, RF/DC power, gas and chemical delivery, pumps, filtration, temperature control, robotics/automation, exhaust/abatement, instrumentation, and PLC/SCADA controls
- Partner closely with Process Engineers to implement new process requirements on existing and future equipment platforms
- Evaluate and select next-generation high-throughput equipment capable of supporting 1GW+ per tool scale production
- Work with vendors on equipment design improvements, upgrades, and custom solutions tailored to heterojunction solar cell requirements
- Establish equipment performance metrics (OEE, MTBF, MTTR) and implement statistical process control for hardware stability
- Ensure all equipment meets cleanroom, safety, and high-reliability manufacturing standards
- Analyze production processes and machinery from a first principles, physics-based approach
- Attend meetings to communicate factory state to leadership with respect to the team’s equipment
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, materials science, or other technical discipline
- 2+ years of hands-on experience owning and maintaining production equipment (e.g., CVD/PECVD, PVD/sputtering, wet chemical processing, or metallization/screen printing) in a high-volume semiconductor, solar manufacturing, or related environment
- Experience handling flammable, toxic, corrosive, and/or hazardous chemicals and gases safely
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- 5+ years of hands-on experience owning and maintaining production equipment in a high-volume semiconductor or solar manufacturing environment
- Demonstrated success improving equipment uptime and reliability in a 24/7 high-volume production setting
- Experience with heterojunction (HJT) silicon solar cell manufacturing equipment
- Previous work at high-volume solar, semiconductor, or display manufacturing facilities (multi-GW or 300mm fab experience is a plus)
- Deep knowledge of tool architecture and subsystems for one or more of the following:
- Vacuum deposition (PECVD/PVD): vacuum systems, RF/DC generators and impedance matching, sputtering cathodes and target life management, mass flow controllers, throttle valve PID tuning, helium leak checking, slit valves, chamber clean optimization, and RPS qualification
- Wet chemical processing: chemical delivery and concentration control, bath lifetime optimization, pumps, filtration, rinse and dryer systems, wet benches, and particle control
- Experience with electro-pneumatic robot and transfer module systems, and with CDA controlled valving and equipment
- Experience with pyrophoric, toxic, and hazardous gas and chemical delivery, handling, and abatement systems
- Experience with predictive maintenance technologies (vibration analysis, thermography, oil analysis) and CMMS platforms (e.g., SAP PM, Maximo)
- Experience with PLC/SCADA control systems and instrumentation troubleshooting
- Experience scaling equipment from pilot to very high volume production
- Proficiency with statistical tools (JMP, Minitab), failure analysis techniques, and reliability engineering principles (RCM, FMEA, Weibull analysis)
- Strong project management skills with the ability to drive complex equipment installations and qualifications
- Familiarity with high-reliability manufacturing standards for aerospace applications
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Must be able to work extended hours and weekends as needed to support production and urgent equipment downtime situations
- Ability to lift 25 lbs unassisted, work in cleanroom and facility utility environments, and move between multiple production areas
- Willingness to travel domestically and internationally to vendor sites (up to 20%)
SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.