{"id":3821856,"url":"https://alion.io/job/spacex-equipment-engineer-wet-process-solar-cells","title":"Equipment Engineer, Wet Process (Solar Cells)","company":{"id":66,"name":"SpaceX","domain":"spacex.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/spacex","size_band":"5000+","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":94,"open_postings":56,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.036,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":97,"computed_at":"2026-11-10T06:52:35Z"}},"role":"Energy","role_family":"Energy","seniority":"senior","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Bastrop, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Statistical Process Control","optional":false},{"name":"JMP","optional":true},{"name":"Minitab","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-11-05T17:10:31Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-11-05","last_verified_at":"2026-11-10T07:46:09Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":4,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":4},"description":"SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.\nEQUIPMENT ENGINEER, WET PROCESS (SOLAR CELLS)\nStarlink believes in providing fast, reliable internet to those that need it most. We design, build, and launch the world's largest and most advanced satellite constellation that is capable of delivering high-speed internet to even the most remote locations. \nAs an Equipment Engineer, Wet Process you will own the chemical processing equipment (wet chemical texturing tools, wet chemical preclean tools) used to manufacture silicon heterojunction solar cells at massive scale. You will work closely with our existing Texturing Process Engineering team to ensure world-class equipment performance, reliability, and uptime. While the process team focuses on surface morphology, light trapping, and cell efficiency, you will be the hardware owner responsible for tool availability, stability, and scaling to support our ambitious goals. \nYour work will form the backbone of the Starlink network (photons of sunlight in is directly proportional to photons of data out to customers!) and help provide internet to tens of millions of customers all around the world. You will spearhead state of the art production equipment for an internal solar cell production line, providing high efficiency and high-quality solar cells for both our latest generation Starlink satellites and for Starship missions to the Moon and Mars. \nRESPONSIBILITIES: \nWork with facilities and process engineering teams to install, qualify, maintain, and continuously improve high-throughput texturing and preclean equipment for heterojunction silicon solar cell manufacturing\nDrive 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\nDevelop and execute robust preventive and predictive maintenance strategies, spare parts programs, and tool matching protocols for high-volume manufacturing\nLead root cause analysis and corrective actions on all equipment-related issues, including chemical delivery systems, pumps, filtration, temperature control, robotics/automation, wet benches, and exhaust/abatement systems\nPartner closely with Process Engineers to implement new process requirements on existing and future equipment platforms\nEvaluate and select next-generation high-throughput texturing tools capable of supporting 1GW+ per tool scale production\nWork with vendors on equipment design improvements, upgrades, and custom solutions tailored to heterojunction solar cell requirements\nEstablish equipment performance metrics (OEE, MTBF, MTTR) and implement statistical process control for hardware stability\nEnsure all equipment meets cleanroom, safety, and high-reliability manufacturing standards\nAnalyze production processes and machinery from a first principles, physics-based approach\nAttend meetings to communicate factory state to leadership with respect to the team’s equipment \nBASIC QUALIFICATIONS: \nBachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or related technical discipline\n2+ years of hands-on experience owning and maintaining chemical process equipment in a high-volume semiconductor, solar manufacturing, or related environment\nExperience handling flammable, toxic, corrosive, and/or hazardous chemicals and gases safely \nPREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: \n5+ years of hands-on experience owning and maintaining chemical process equipment in a high-volume semiconductor or solar manufacturing environment\nStrong technical expertise in chemical delivery systems, wet process equipment, pumps, filtration, temperature control hardware, robotics, and automation\nDemonstrated success improving equipment uptime and reliability in a 24/7 high-volume production setting\nExperience with heterojunction (HJT) silicon solar cell manufacturing equipment\nPrevious work at high-volume solar, semiconductor, or display manufacturing facilities (multi-GW or 300mm fab experience is a plus)\nDeep knowledge of texturing tool architecture and subsystems\nExperience with chemical concentration control, bath lifetime optimization, rinse systems, dryer systems, and particle control\nExperience with electro-pneumatic robot and transfer module systems\nExperience with hazardous chemical delivery, handling, and abatement systems\nExperience scaling equipment from pilot to very high volume production\nProficiency with statistical tools (JMP, Minitab), failure analysis techniques, and reliability engineering principles\nStrong project management skills with the ability to drive complex equipment installations and qualifications\nFamiliarity with high-reliability manufacturing standards for aerospace applications \nADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: \nMust be able to work extended hours and weekends as needed to support production and urgent equipment downtime situations\nAbility to lift 25 lbs unassisted, work in cleanroom environments, and move between multiple production areas\nWillingness to travel domestically and internationally to vendor sites (up to 20%) \nITAR REQUIREMENTS:\nTo conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here. \nSpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.\nApplicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to .","description_format":"text","description_chars":6401,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":true,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Solar Energy","Satellite Communications","Launch Services","Satellite Manufacturing"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-11-05T17:28:28Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":90,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.903,"p_room":1,"age_days":4,"expected_fill_days":97,"reasons":["conf:4","velocity","win:early","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-11-10T06:52:35Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/spacex-equipment-engineer-wet-process-solar-cells","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/spacex-equipment-engineer-wet-process-solar-cells.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-10T10:58:25Z","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":25420,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-11T00:00:00Z"}},"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":66},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=66"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fspacex-equipment-engineer-wet-process-solar-cells"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":2,"usd":0.2},"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%2Fspacex-equipment-engineer-wet-process-solar-cells"},{"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%2Fspacex-equipment-engineer-wet-process-solar-cells"},{"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/spacex-equipment-engineer-wet-process-solar-cells\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fspacex-equipment-engineer-wet-process-solar-cells"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3821856}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"spacex.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3821856},"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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