Development Engineer IV

About the role

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

Responsibilities

• 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.

Requirements

• 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).

Qualifications

• 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.

Skills/Competencies

• 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, RAMAN, UV-Vis, AFM/STM, TEM, and SEM.
• Problem Solving: Deep understanding of material/process/device interactions with strong analytical skills to develop practical solutions and innovations where solution paths are unclear.
• Communication & Influence: Excellent written and oral presentation skills; demonstrated strength across organizations to produce clear data, reports, and strategic executive summaries.
• Mindset: Strong sense of project ownership with a hands-on, agile, and "can-do" attitude. Accountable team player who is willing to work odd or long hours when pressed by critical deadlines or urgent situations.

Pay

TBD

Schedule

TBD