SpaceX Sr. CVD Equipment Engineer at SpaceX responsible for PECVD equipment used in manufacturing silicon heterojunction solar cells. Ensure equipment performance, reliability, and uptime to support large-scale production.
Responsibilities
Work with facilities and process engineering teams to install, qualify, maintain, and continuously improve high-throughput PECVD equipment for heterojunction silicon solar cell manufacturing
Drive equipment reliability and uptime to support very large volume production with minimal downtime
Run experiments and analyze data to improve capacity (UPH), reduce tool to tool variation, and improve defect performance
Develop and execute robust preventive and predictive maintenance strategies, spare parts programs, and tool matching protocols for high-volume manufacturing
Lead root cause analysis and corrective actions on all equipment-related issues, including vacuum systems, RF generators, gas delivery, temperature control, and automation
Partner closely with Process Engineers to implement new process requirements on existing and future equipment platforms
Evaluate and select next-generation high-throughput PECVD tools capable of supporting 1GW+ per tool scale production
Work with vendors on equipment design improvements, upgrades, and custom solutions tailored to heterojunction solar cell requirements
Establish equipment performance metrics (OEE, MTBF, MTTR) and implement statistical process control for hardware stability
Ensure all equipment meets cleanroom, safety, and high-reliability manufacturing standards
Analyze production processes and machinery from a first principles, physics-based approach
Attend meetings to communicate factory state to leadership with respect to the team’s equipment
Qualification
Experience handling flammablePrevious work at high-volume solar
Required
Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, materials science, or other engineering discipline
5+ years of hands-on experience owning and maintaining CVD or PECVD equipment in a high-volume semiconductor, solar, or other manufacturing environment
7+ years of hands-on experience owning and maintaining CVD or PECVD equipment in a high-volume semiconductor, solar, or display manufacturing environment
Strong technical expertise in vacuum systems, RF plasma systems, gas delivery, mass flow controllers, and temperature control hardware
Demonstrated success improving equipment uptime and reliability in a 24/7 high-volume production setting
Experience with heterojunction (HJT) silicon solar cell manufacturing equipment
Previous work at high-volume solar, semiconductor, or display manufacturing facilities (multi-GW or 300mm fab experience is a plus)
Deep knowledge of PECVD tool architecture and subsystems
Experience with throttle valve PID tuning, leak rate measurements, helium leak checking, manometer adjustment, slit valve. and actuator troubleshooting, etc.
Experience with CDA controlled valving and equipment
