Development Engineer IV

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

Perform material and device research to enhance thin film solar cell performance and stability and to reduce manufacturing cost. This individual will serve as the primary Subject Matter Expert (SME) within the California Technology Center (CTC) for advanced sputtering deposition operations, vacuum technology, and thin-film materials development. Responsible for projects or functions that are highly complex, require significant innovation, and are critical to department objectives.

Plan, execute, and characterize development engineering experiments in a laboratory environment with strategic foresight, operating in close alignment with Technical Fellows and senior technology leadership.

• Sputtering Technology Ownership:
  Assume a key ownership role in our sputtering deposition operations, vacuum systems, and next-generation PVD tool modifications within the organization.
• Material & Process Innovation:
  Lead the development of innovative thin-film materials and sputtering processes to enhance the surface/interface and bulk properties required for high-efficiency, stable photovoltaic (PV) devices.
• Solid-State Material Control:
  Control key material properties (phase, crystallinity, morphology, bulk/interface defect density, and band bending) via advanced material synthesis and deposition tuning.
• Strategic Experimentation:
  Develop work plans that have unclear solution paths. Plan, execute, and analyze strategic development engineering experiments utilizing statistical methods and Design of Experiments (DOE).
• Characterization & Failure Analysis:
  Identify opportunities for solar cell efficiency and durability improvements through advanced thin-film material analysis, device characterization, and failure analysis.
• Specifications Management:
  Determine and evaluate material, target, and tool/equipment specifications for improved performance and organizational effectiveness.
• Cross-Functional Leadership:
  Act as a core leader and specialist within the group. Demonstrate a strong ability to lead cross-functional efforts, drive external collaborators, and act as an effective communicator with internal and external partners.
• Mentorship & Peer
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Collaborate with Technical Fellows and senior engineering peers to review technical risk and bridge foundational research with scalable engineering. Train, mentor, and manage junior engineers and peers on specific sputtering and vacuum technologies.
• Compliance:
  Comply with Company's Environmental, Quality, Safety, or any other policies that have been enforced, and contribute to the continuous improvement of said policies.

• Ph.D. in Materials Science, Surface Science, Chemical Engineering, Applied Physics, Chemistry, or a related scientific discipline and 10 years of relevant technical experience (or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer III at First Solar).
• Master’s Degree in the same disciplines and 15 years of relevant technical experience (or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer III at First Solar).
• Bachelor’s Degree in an engineering or technical discipline and 20 years of relevant technical experience (or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer III at First Solar).
• Required Expertise: 10+ years of R&D experience in thin-film solar or a closely related field, with a deep, authoritative knowledge of vacuum technology, sputtering deposition mechanics, plasma physics, and their direct impact on the nucleation and growth of thin films.
• Preferred Experience:
  
  Experience with thin-film perovskite solar cells or perovskite integration in an industrial R&D environment is highly preferred but not required.

• Sputtering & Vacuum Expert:
  Technical expert and innovator in physical vapor deposition (PVD), target selection, magnetron/plasma dynamics, and vacuum systems engineering.
• Characterization Mastery:
  In-depth knowledge of thin-film material characterization techniques with the proven ability to interpret complex data from tools such as Ellipsometry, XRD, XPS,…