First Solar

1 month ago

Development Engineer IV

✓ Verified Job

Canonical indexed version, validated from employer's careers page.

Source: Company careers pageValidated by: Fursa AI

Last checked: 4 hours agoStatus: Live

Job Summary

Lead advanced development engineering for thin-film solar cells, serving as the California Technology Center SME for sputtering deposition, vacuum technology, and next-generation PVD tool modifications. Plan, execute, and characterize complex laboratory experiments to improve device performance, stability, and durability. Apply statistical methods and DOE to guide strategic experimentation, manage material/process specifications, and perform characterization and failure analysis, collaborating closely with Technical Fellows and senior leadership.

Location: Santa Clara

Workplace: Onsite

Employment Type: Full time

Job Function: Product Management

Seniority: Mid level

Key Responsibilities

•Serve as the primary SME for sputtering deposition operations, vacuum technology, and next-generation PVD tool modifications within the California Technology Center.
•Lead development of innovative thin-film materials and sputtering processes to improve surface/interface and bulk properties for high-efficiency, stable PV devices.
•Control key material properties (phase, crystallinity, morphology, defect density, band bending) through advanced material synthesis and deposition tuning.
•Plan, execute, and analyze strategic development engineering experiments using statistical methods and DOE when solution paths are unclear.
•Drive characterization, failure analysis, and specifications management to identify opportunities to improve solar cell efficiency and durability.

Travel: Low travel

Pay and Benefits

Salary: USD 129,480 - 180,000 annually

Key Requirements

•Ph.D. in Materials Science, Surface Science, Chemical Engineering, Applied Physics, Chemistry, or a related discipline and 10 years of relevant technical experience (or 2 years as a Development Engineer III at First Solar).
•Required 10+ years of R&D experience in thin-film solar (or closely related), with authoritative knowledge of vacuum technology, sputtering deposition mechanics, plasma physics, and thin-film nucleation/growth.
•Experience leading material and process innovation for high-efficiency, stable photovoltaic devices.
•Strong expertise in thin-film material characterization and interpreting complex data from Ellipsometry, XRD, XPS, RAMAN, UV-Vis, AFM/STM, TEM, and SEM.
•Experience with thin-film perovskite solar cells or perovskite integration in an industrial R&D environment (preferred).

Experience:10+ yearsThin-film solarPhotovoltaicsR&DVacuum technologyPerovskite solar cells

Education:PhD / Doctorate in Materials Science, Surface Science, Chemical Engineering, Applied Physics, Chemistry (or related scientific discipline)

Skills:Project ownershipAnalytical skillsCommunicationCross-functional collaborationMentorship

Tech Stack:Thin-film solar cellsThin-film materialsSputtering depositionVacuum systemsPhysical vapor deposition (PVD)Magnetron/plasma dynamicsDesign of Experiments (DOE)Statistical methodsEllipsometryXRDXPSRAMANUV-VisAFM/STMTEMSEMPerovskite integrationPlasma physics

Company Brief

First Solar

Manufactures and sells solar modules and provides utility-scale photovoltaic power plant solutions. It is one of the world’s largest solar technology companies, focused on thin-film solar panel production and large-scale renewable energy deployment.

Industry: Solar Energy

Company Size: Enterprise (1,001+ employees)

Revenue: USD 1B+

Growth: Public Company

Valuation: Public Company (Market Cap in USD)

Funding: IPO / Publicly Listed

Headquarters: Tempe, United States

Founded: 1999

Website LinkedIn

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First Solar

1 month ago

Development Engineer IV

✓ Verified Job

Canonical indexed version, validated from employer's careers page.

Source: Company careers pageValidated by: Fursa AI

Last checked: 4 hours agoStatus: Live

Job Summary

Location: Santa Clara

Workplace: Onsite

Employment Type: Full time

Job Function: Product Management

Seniority: Mid level

Key Responsibilities

•Serve as the primary SME for sputtering deposition operations, vacuum technology, and next-generation PVD tool modifications within the California Technology Center.
•Lead development of innovative thin-film materials and sputtering processes to improve surface/interface and bulk properties for high-efficiency, stable PV devices.
•Control key material properties (phase, crystallinity, morphology, defect density, band bending) through advanced material synthesis and deposition tuning.
•Plan, execute, and analyze strategic development engineering experiments using statistical methods and DOE when solution paths are unclear.
•Drive characterization, failure analysis, and specifications management to identify opportunities to improve solar cell efficiency and durability.

Travel: Low travel

Pay and Benefits

Salary: USD 129,480 - 180,000 annually

Key Requirements

•Ph.D. in Materials Science, Surface Science, Chemical Engineering, Applied Physics, Chemistry, or a related discipline and 10 years of relevant technical experience (or 2 years as a Development Engineer III at First Solar).
•Required 10+ years of R&D experience in thin-film solar (or closely related), with authoritative knowledge of vacuum technology, sputtering deposition mechanics, plasma physics, and thin-film nucleation/growth.
•Experience leading material and process innovation for high-efficiency, stable photovoltaic devices.
•Strong expertise in thin-film material characterization and interpreting complex data from Ellipsometry, XRD, XPS, RAMAN, UV-Vis, AFM/STM, TEM, and SEM.
•Experience with thin-film perovskite solar cells or perovskite integration in an industrial R&D environment (preferred).

Experience:10+ yearsThin-film solarPhotovoltaicsR&DVacuum technologyPerovskite solar cells

Education:PhD / Doctorate in Materials Science, Surface Science, Chemical Engineering, Applied Physics, Chemistry (or related scientific discipline)

Skills:Project ownershipAnalytical skillsCommunicationCross-functional collaborationMentorship

Company Brief

First Solar

Industry: Solar Energy

Company Size: Enterprise (1,001+ employees)

Revenue: USD 1B+

Growth: Public Company

Valuation: Public Company (Market Cap in USD)

Funding: IPO / Publicly Listed

Headquarters: Tempe, United States

Founded: 1999

Website LinkedIn