Engineer- Development II; Reliability Physics

Description

First Solar reserves the right to offer you a role most applicable to your experience and skillset.

• Develop predictive physical and physics-inspired phenomenological models to study and improve fabrication processes, performance, and stability of new device technologies. Design experiments to parametrize developed models and verify their accuracy and dependability.

• Associate’s Degree in an engineering discipline or similar technical discipline and 15 years of relevant technical experience or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer I at First Solar.
• Bachelor’s Degree in an engineering discipline or similar technical discipline and 5 years of relevant technical experience or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer I at First Solar.
• Master’s Degree in an engineering discipline or similar technical discipline and 3 years of relevant technical experience or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer I at First Solar.
• Ph.D. in an engineering discipline or similar technical discipline, without prior technical work experience.

• Technical expert and innovator in one area of photovoltaic processes and/or equipment development.
• Expert and hands on experience in laboratory or manufacturing environment.
• In depth knowledge in several fields from the list of photovoltaic device theory, materials science, process engineering, characterization techniques and other fields relevant to First Solar's technology.
• Strong sense of project ownership with hands‑on and can‑do attitude.
• Strong communication skills across organizations.
• Knowledge of Microsoft suite of applications
• Knowledge of jmp or other statistical analysis tools
• Knowledge of Matlab
• Knowledge of Python and/or c++

• Develop, parametrize, and verify models that
  • quantitatively describe defect chemistry and mass transport in semiconductor stack during fabrication and field operation, as well as resulting device performance
    • assess durability of device design and packaging in terms of its resistance to moisture ingress, electro‑chemical corrosion, and abnormal operating conditions
  • Use developed models to optimize device architecture and fabrication process in terms of performance and reliability of PV module
    • Provide data‑driven recommendations to management on specific changes to improve device performance and reliability.
• Identify opportunities for improvement in solar cell efficiency, material selection and process/equipment design through engineering, scientific or empirical methods.
• Improve state of the art techniques for material analysis, statistical analysis of data, or execution planning of experiments. Develop a work plan that has unclear solution paths.
• May be responsible to determine and evaluate material specification for improved performance. May be responsible to determine and evaluate tool/equipment specifications.
• Effective communicator with internal and external partners and customers. Effective team members that can support cross‑functional projects and take ownership of sub‑deliverables.
• May train, mentor and manage junior and peers on specific subject matters.
• Other duties as assigned.
• Job description subject to change at any time.

• This position reports to the Senior Manager of Reliability Physics
• This position has no direct reports

• What percent of travel is required during a given year?
• 5% - 10%

• $80,700 - $115,000

• Will sit, stand, or walk short distances for up to the entire duration of a shift.
• Will climb stairs on an occasional basis.
• Will lift, push, or pull up to 27 pounds on an occasional basis.
• Required to use hands to grasp, lift, handle, carry or feel objects on a frequent basis.
• 20/40 vision in each eye, with or without correction, is required.
• Must be able to comply with all safety standards and procedures.
• May reach above shoulder heights and below the waist on a frequent basis.
• May stoop, kneel, or bend, on an occasional basis.
• Ability to wear personal protective equipment is required (including but not limited to steel toed shoes, gloves, safety glasses, hearing protection,…