SpaceX
Materials Engineer, Thin Films
About this role
SpaceX seeks a Materials Engineer to develop and optimize plasma-deposited thin films for in-house solar cell manufacturing supporting the Starlink satellite constellation. You'll characterize film properties, correlate deposition conditions to performance, support process qualifications, and drive improvements in cell efficiency and manufacturing yield.
What you'll do
- Partner with process engineering on PECVD thin films (passivation, anti-reflection, dielectrics) for materials characterization and production readiness
- Execute materials characterization and analysis; correlate deposition conditions to film thickness, refractive index, composition, lifetime, uniformity, and cell performance
- Support design-of-experiments and process trials by defining measurements, collecting data, and interpreting results with process engineering
- Lead root cause analysis for film, interface, contamination, and yield issues through designed experiments and failure analysis
- Define film specifications, requirements, sampling plans, and acceptance criteria in partnership with cross-functional teams
- Support precursor and consumable qualification, production troubleshooting, and scaling of film stacks to manufacturing
What they're looking for
- PECVD thin-film deposition and plasma/vacuum processing
- Thin-film and solar-cell metrology (spectroscopic ellipsometry, reflectance, FTIR, minority-carrier lifetime, SEM-EDS, XPS)
- Materials characterization and analysis
- Data analysis (Python, JMP, MATLAB, or equivalent)
- Root cause analysis and structured problem-solving (DOE, 5-why)
- Semiconductor or photovoltaic materials experience
- High-volume manufacturing or fab environment familiarity
- First-principles thinking and technical communication
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SpaceX
SpaceX develops advanced spacecraft and satellite systems, including the Starshield government satellite constellation and Starfall re-entry cargo capsule for global delivery. The company is hiring engineers in avionics integration, software test automation, mechanical design, and hardware reliability to validate flight-critical systems and ensure mission success.
- Website
- spacex.com
Likely interview questions
- Walk us through a time when you correlated deposition process parameters to unexpected film properties—what did you find and how did you troubleshoot?
- Describe your hands-on experience with PECVD or vacuum deposition systems. Which characterization techniques have you used most, and what did you learn from them?