Senior Manager- Reliability

About the Role

This is a leadership role critical to First Solar’s continued success, with significant influence on the qualification and commercialization of new technologies quickly and efficiently. The role involves close collaboration with functions including Development Engineering, Reliability/Device Physics, Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, Global Customer Service, and Product Management. Responsibilities include developing systems and activities to assess design and process changes, building reliability modeling infrastructure, understanding the physics of technology and material interactions, monitoring volume manufacturing and fielded product performance, investigating issues, and driving root cause and corrective actions.

Responsibilities

• Implement a world-class safety culture, instilling and demonstrating a Safety First mentality.
• Verification & Validation of Product Design:
  • Develop and lead a team responsible for qualification of new technologies at the module level, identifying and assessing risks of product design and manufacturing failure modes.
  • Establish cross-functional FMEA-based risk assessments of new designs with direct linkage to commercial product reliability requirements and process capability & controls.
  • Develop and execute world-class qualification processes and procedures that limit risk in product release and identify material and manufacturing quality factors influencing standardized test and field reliability.
• Develop reliability test methods covering expected customer use environments and operational conditions, interpret test results, and validate assumptions in the field.
• Communicate rising process and product reliability concerns urgently and cross-functionally to instigate corrective actions.
• Provide guidance regarding design, material, process, qualification, and field risk.
• Module Certification & Compliance: Work closely with internal groups and certification agencies to identify test requirements and timelines for securing required UL & IEC module certifications.
• Diagnostic Tools & Method Development: Scale and enhance infrastructure for quality, reliability, and material analysis in support of development projects.
• Product Reliability Monitoring in HVM: Support global high-volume module manufacturing reliability monitoring systems to identify and mitigate reliability failure risks.
• Product & Manufacturing Excursion Root Cause Analysis: Drive root cause and corrective action for module performance issues from factory excursions or field warranty returns through failure analysis plans and data interpretation, collaborating with the Reliability Physics Group.
• Warranty Closed Loop Corrective Action: Generate data and analysis to equip the Customer Support team with information to address customer field observations and inquiries.
• Build, lead, motivate, and mentor a highly talented Reliability Engineering team of device, material, and reliability experts.
• Utilize in-house capabilities efficiently.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• M.S. in an engineering discipline such as Materials Science, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related fields; Ph.D. preferred.
• B.S. in an engineering discipline or related field with 10+ years of experience in an engineering discipline, including volume manufacturing and process/product improvement.
• 10+ years of experience in reliability prediction modeling, reliability physics, and MTBF.
• 8+ years of engineering leadership and management experience in process engineering and/or process development.
• 5+ years of experience managing the Quality and/or Reliability function in a global volume manufacturing and product development setting, with strong familiarity with UL & IEC standards.

Skills

• Demonstrated expertise in creating safe work environments.
• Strong technical background with the ability to quickly understand new concepts and ideas.
• Knowledge of semiconductor-based technologies such as microelectronics; experience with large-area thin-film technologies is a plus.
• Experience in a high-tech, high-growth environment preferred.
• Track record of increasing responsibility in the Quality & Reliability function with a reputation as a customer advocate.
• Proven ability to manage and execute Quality & Reliability programs, strategy, and culture in a global manufacturing company.
• Data-driven approach to solving issues with strong data mining and analysis skills, applying experimental and statistical techniques to convert data into actionable information.
• Strong knowledge of SPC, lean manufacturing concepts, reliability analysis, and Six Sigma.
• Passion for process improvement, identifying gaps in operational systems, and driving resolution.
• Excellent interpersonal, managerial, organizational, and team-building skills with a proven record of delivering results through hands-on leadership.
• Ability to succeed through influence with internal and external customers, working at all levels across functional boundaries and cultures.
• Proficient use of Microsoft Office suite programs.

Benefits

First Solar is committed to compliance with its obligations under all applicable state and federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. It attempts to reasonably accommodate applicants and employees in accordance with disability discrimination laws and invites individuals with disabilities to participate in a good-faith, interactive process to identify reasonable accommodations.

Pay

Estimated annual salary range: $131,000 - $180,000.

Schedule

Travel: 5% - 10%.

Physical Requirements

Office Physical Requirements: All positions require interaction with people and technology while either standing or sitting. Associates must be able to communicate face-to-face and on the phone with or without reasonable accommodation.