Head of Thin-Film & Process Engineering

On behalf of our client, we're hiring a Principal Engineer to serve as a technical leader for the development, optimization, and scale-up of thin-film and cell manufacturing processes.

Location: San Jose, CA

Employment Type: Full-time

This is a highly hands‑on role for an engineer with deep expertise in sputtering/PVD, thin-film processing, process optimization, DOE, and manufacturing scale-up. The Principal Engineer will be the technical owner for thin-film deposition and process engineering, with particular emphasis on sputtering/PVD processes and their integration into the overall microbattery manufacturing flow.

The successful candidate will be responsible for developing robust processes, establishing process windows, troubleshooting complex process issues, improving yield and repeatability, and transferring processes from R&D into scalable manufacturing. This individual will work closely with cell design, materials, equipment, characterization, and manufacturing teams.

• Lead development and optimization of sputtering/PVD processes for microbattery electrodes, electrolytes, current collectors, barriers, and other functional layers
• Develop process recipes and establish robust operating windows
• Optimize deposition parameters including power, pressure, gas flow, substrate temperature, deposition rate, target condition, and substrate configuration
• Understand and control film thickness, composition, density, stress, adhesion, morphology, uniformity, and electrical/electrochemical properties
• Develop strategies to improve film uniformity across substrates and through production runs
• Troubleshoot sputtering chamber and process-related issues
• Partner with equipment engineering to improve chamber performance, uptime, throughput, and repeatability

• Lead structured DOE and statistical process optimization
• Identify critical process parameters and critical-to-quality characteristics
• Establish process windows and operating limits
• Analyze process data to identify sources of variation and yield loss
• Develop corrective and preventive actions based on data and root-cause analysis
• Establish process capability and statistical controls for critical processes
• Drive continuous improvement in yield, throughput, quality, and reliability

• Correlate deposition parameters with thin-film properties and cell performance
  
  Partner with materials and characterization teams to investigate film composition, structure, density, stress, adhesion, and interfaces
• Use characterization techniques such as SEM, XRD, XPS, profilometry, EIS, optical microscopy, and other appropriate analytical methods
• Develop failure-analysis approaches for deposition and interface-related defects
• Translate characterization results into process improvements

• Work closely with the cell design team to ensure cell architecture is compatible with manufacturing capabilities
• Define process requirements and limitations that should influence cell design
• Develop integrated process flows covering deposition, patterning, stacking, assembly, and testing
• Identify interactions between individual process steps and downstream cell performance
• Optimize the complete process rather than individual steps in isolation

• Transfer laboratory processes into pilot and manufacturing environments
• Develop scalable processes with appropriate controls and specifications
• Establish process documentation, specifications, work instructions, and control plans
• Support equipment selection, qualification, commissioning, and process validation
• Develop methods for monitoring process stability and detecting process drift
• Work with operations and manufacturing engineering to improve throughput and yield

• Lead root-cause investigations for process and product failures
• Develop hypotheses, design experiments, analyze data, and implement corrective actions
• Provide technical leadership during high-priority manufacturing and development issues
• Ensure conclusions are supported by high-quality data and reproducible experiments

• Serv…