Development Engineer IV - Perovskite Physics

Basic Job Functions

• Serve as a senior technical contributor within First Solar's Perovskite Physics group.
• Support development and scaleup of First Solar's next-generation perovskite technology through physics-based mechanism understanding, advanced metrology development, and root-cause analysis.
• Operate at the intersection of materials science, device physics, and pilot manufacturing engineering, acting as a technical leader in defining measurement strategies, correlating metrology data to performance and reliability, and resolving complex process–structure–property relationships.
• Develop and deploy manufacturing-relevant characterization and diagnostics for the perovskite pilot line, enabling improved process control, faster learning cycles, and robust yield and performance outcomes.
• Demonstrate strong independent problem-solving capability, deep technical expertise, and close collaboration with cross-functional process, equipment, and integration teams.

• Bachelor s Degree in an engineering discipline or similar technical discipline with 20 years of relevant technical experience or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer III at First Solar.
• Master s Degree in an engineering discipline or similar technical discipline with 15 years of relevant technical experience or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer III at First Solar.
• Ph.D. in an engineering discipline or similar technical discipline with 10 years of relevant technical experience or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer III at First Solar.

• Advanced understanding of optoelectronic device physics and correlation of physical measurements to IV, QE, reliability, and low-level device metrics.
• Strong understanding of perovskite materials physics, including crystallization behavior, defect states, interfaces, and degradation mechanisms.
• Demonstrated expertise in advanced materials and device characterization and data-driven root-cause analysis.
• Advanced skills in data analysis, experimental design, and statistical interpretation.
• Physics-driven problem solver with strong mechanistic intuition.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and early-stage technologies with the ability to reduce ambiguity through structured, physics-based problem solving.
• Strong experimental rigor and data discipline.
• High ownership mindset; capable of independently driving complex technical programs with company-level impact.
• Independently defines technical approaches within program objectives.
• Strong cross-functional communicator.
• Commitment to safety, quality, and operational excellence.

• Hands-on experience with inline or high-throughput metrology in a manufacturing or pilot-line setting.
• Experience supporting technology transfer from R&D to manufacturing.
• Record of publications, patents, or externally recognized technical contributions in perovskite photovoltaics.

• Develop and validate mechanistic understanding linking perovskite deposition, crystallization, interfaces, and post-processing to device-level electrical and environmental performance.
• Perform deep root cause investigations of yield loss, efficiency variability, and reliability excursions using metrology data, physics-based models, and cross-functional inputs.
• Lead failure analysis and excursion response efforts, including hypothesis generation, experimental design, data interpretation, and corrective action definition.
• Design, develop, and deploy advanced inline, at-line, and offline metrology methods to monitor perovskite film formation, interfaces, microstructure, defects, and uniformity and their correlations with device performance and stability.
• Lead qualification of novel optical, spectroscopic, electrical, and structural characterization techniques suitable for pilot-line operation (e.g., hyperspectral imaging, PL/EL spectral analysis and mapping, Raman, including in-situ diagnostics).
• Define metrology requirements and specifications to enable process window characterization, early defect detection, and statistical process control.
• Partner with process development, equipment, and integration teams to…