SpaceX Sr. Materials Engineer for Silicon Crystal Growth on Starlink at SpaceX. Owns equipment specification, validation, and process development for silicon ingot and wafer production.
Responsibilities
Own the full lifecycle of equipment specification, validation, and process development for silicon ingot and wafer production.
Specify and implement in-process and off-line metrology tools for quality control.
Develop silicon ingot and wafer quality specifications; conduct testing and performance evaluation to ensure specifications are met.
Lead root cause failure investigations to resolve process issues.
Push material and crystal growth process limits to enable higher PV efficiency.
Collaborate with leadership and stakeholders to drive scale-up plans from R&D to production of silicon ingots and wafers.
Qualification
Bachelor's degree in materials science
Required
Bachelor's degree in materials science, chemical engineering, or a STEM field.
5+ years of experience in semiconductor crystal growth manufacturing, research, or characterization.
Preferred
Master's degree or PhD in materials science, chemical engineering, or a related field.
8+ years of professional work experience (photovoltaics, semiconductor, or crystal growth sectors preferred).
Expertise in CZ crystal growth fundamentals, including thermal management, impurity control, and defect mitigation.
In-depth knowledge of polysilicon feedstock, dopants, crucible materials, and their impact on ingot quality and yield.
Proficiency in silicon ingot/wafer characterization techniques and equipment, including ICP-MS, GDMS, XRT, SEM/TEM, FTIR, resistivity mapping, and minority carrier lifetime testing (PL).
Experience with Statistical Process Control (SPC), Design of Experiments (DOE), and manufacturing metrics (e.g., CPK, yield, OEE) in production environments.
Demonstrated track record in developing new processes, improving efficiencies (e.g., pull rates, purity >9N), and successfully transferring to production in a rapidly growing, fast-paced environment.
Proven cross-functional leadership skills, with experience aligning diverse teams to achieve shared technology goals.
