{"id":1100023,"url":"https://alion.io/job/solestial-senior-thin-film-deposition-engineer","title":"Senior Thin Film Deposition Engineer","company":{"id":5626,"name":"Solestial","domain":"solestial.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/solestial","size_band":"51-200","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Lever","truth_index":null},"role":"Semiconductors","role_family":"Semiconductors","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Tempe, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":107000,"max_usd":196000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":83},"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"CVD","optional":false},{"name":"PVD","optional":false},{"name":"Statistical Process Control","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-21T21:11:14Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-21","last_verified_at":"2026-11-15T10:22:50Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":54,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":54},"description":"The Company:\nSolestial is pioneering the future of space-based solar power by developing advanced solar technologies optimized for the harsh conditions of space. Our innovative, low-cost, and scalable solar arrays are engineered for next-generation satellites, spacecraft, and orbital infrastructure. We are driven by a mission to power the space economy and unlock limitless opportunities in orbit and beyond.\nThe Role:\nAs aSenior Thin Film Deposition Engineer, you will own and advance our thin film deposition processes, with a strong focus on PVD and PECVD. This role will be responsible for maintaining stable, repeatable deposition processes while also driving process development, optimization, and equipment modifications as we scale manufacturing.\nThis is a hands-on engineering role. The ideal candidate has deep experience with sputter deposition and understands the relationship between the process, equipment, materials, and resulting film properties. They should be comfortable troubleshooting from both a process and equipment perspective and working directly on deposition tools to keep them operating reliably.\n\nYour Mission\nOwn and optimize PVD/PECVD processes.\n\nDevelop and modify deposition processes to improve film performance, repeatability, yield, and throughput\n\nMonitor process performance and troubleshoot deposition issues, excursions, and variability\n\nMaintain deposition equipment from a process and engineering perspective, including hands-on troubleshooting and preventative maintenance\n\nDiagnose equipment-related issues involving vacuum systems, gas delivery, power supplies, targets, chambers, and other deposition system components\n\nPartner with engineering and manufacturing teams to keep deposition tools running reliably and minimize downtime\n\nDevelop process recipes, operating parameters, and process controls\n\nPlan and execute experiments and DOEs to understand process windows and optimize performance\n\nSupport modifications and upgrades to existing deposition equipment as manufacturing needs evolve\n\nAnalyze process and equipment data to identify trends, root causes, and opportunities for improvement\n\nDevelop and maintain process documentation, specifications, work instructions, and equipment maintenance procedures\n\nSupport the transition of new or modified deposition processes from development into production\n\nWhat You Bring\nBachelor's degree in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field; advanced degree a plus\n\nSignificant hands-on experience with physical vapor deposition (PVD) and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) processes and equipment\n\nDeep technical knowledge of thin film deposition, including process parameters, plasma behavior, vacuum systems, target/material interactions, and thin film properties\n\nExperience developing, optimizing, and troubleshooting thin film deposition processes in a manufacturing or production environment\n\nHands-on experience maintaining, troubleshooting, and modifying PVD/sputtering equipment\n\nStrong understanding of vacuum equipment and components, including pumps, valves, pressure measurement, gas delivery, and related systems\n\nExperience using structured problem-solving, DOE, and data analysis to improve process performance\n\nAbility to independently troubleshoot complex issues that cross the boundary between process and equipment\n\nComfortable working directly with production equipment in a fast-paced manufacturing environment\n\nWhat Gives You an Edge\nExperience with thin film deposition for semiconductor, photovoltaic, aerospace, or other high-reliability applications\n\nExperience scaling deposition processes from R&D or development into manufacturing\n\nExperience with equipment upgrades, retrofits, or custom modifications\n\nFamiliarity with SPC and manufacturing process controls\n\nExperience with additional vacuum deposition or thin film characterization techniques\n\nOur Benefits\nCompetitive salary\nGenerous, high-quality medical, dental, and vision coverage on day one of employment\n15 vacation days, 5 sick days, and 10 paid holidays annually - with an extended holiday break at year’s end\n401K with employer match up to 4% of salary\nEmployer-paid short-term and long-term disability and employer-sponsored life insurance\nYour work will literally go to space!","description_format":"text","description_chars":4348,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["401k plan","Life insurance"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Solar Energy"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-21T21:40:03Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"US","licensed_sponsor":true,"adverts_offering_sponsorship_24m":0,"sanctioned_now":false,"evidence":"H-1B filings in 12 months: 1","filings_12m":1,"filings_prev_12m":0,"green_card_filings_12m":0,"median_offered_wage_usd":82500,"route":null,"cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-11-15T09:21:55+00:00","sources":["US Department of Labor: LCA disclosure data (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":72,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.8,"p_room":0.9,"age_days":54,"expected_fill_days":93,"reasons":["conf:4","win:mid"],"computed_at":"2026-11-15T07:52:55Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/solestial-senior-thin-film-deposition-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/solestial-senior-thin-film-deposition-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-15T13:41:31Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":4512,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-16T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.1,"usd":0.01,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":5626},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=5626"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fsolestial-senior-thin-film-deposition-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"free","price":{"credits":0,"usd":0},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fsolestial-senior-thin-film-deposition-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.1,"usd":0.01},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fsolestial-senior-thin-film-deposition-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/solestial-senior-thin-film-deposition-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fsolestial-senior-thin-film-deposition-engineer"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":1100023}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"solestial.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":1100023},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. 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