Solar Equipment Engineer

The Role

As a Solar Equipment Engineer, you will own automated equipment critical to the ability to manufacture and test massive solar arrays at rate. You’ll work closely with process and manufacturing engineers ensuring consistent equipment performance, reliability, and uptime. Within this role, you will be responsible for coordinating and executing the installation, qualification, and sustaining of the mechanical and electrical systems of our solar manufacturing equipment.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate with facilities and process engineers to install, qualify, maintain, and continually improve solar array manufacturing equipment.
• Own equipment reliability and uptime; design, execute, and analyze experiments to improve within-tool process variance, tool-to-tool performance variance, and defect performance.
• Develop and execute robust preventive and predictive maintenance strategies, spare parts programs, and tool matching protocols.
• Lead root cause investigations and corrective actions within your equipment.
• Work with vendors and our internal automation team on equipment design improvements, upgrades, and custom solutions.
• Establish equipment performance metrics (OEE, MTBF, MTTR) and implement statistical process control for hardware stability.
• Support reporting on factory health to process engineers and company leadership through clear documentation of equipment performance and impact on downstream processes.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Bachelor's degree in physics, materials science, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, or a related technical field.
• Internship in at least one of: photovoltaics, power systems, semiconductor equipment, or automation.
• Hands-on hardware experience through internships, research, design competitions, or extracurricular projects.

Nice to Have

• Internship or research experience with solar arrays or power systems for space applications.
• Exposure to solar cell or module characterization techniques (IV curves, electroluminescence, flash testing).
• Experience with automated equipment or subsystems such as robotics, motion control, vision systems, conveyors, or pneumatics.
• Familiarity with PLCs, sensors, or instrumentation, or with troubleshooting electromechanical systems.
• Exposure to manufacturing processes such as soldering, bonding, layup, or electromechanical assembly.
• Coursework or project experience in reliability engineering, failure analysis, or root cause methods (e.g., 5 Whys, fishbone, 8D).
• Familiarity with statistical analysis or SPC, using Python, MATLAB, JMP, or Minitab.
• Experience working in cleanroom or controlled manufacturing environments, or safely handling adhesives, solvents, or other hazardous materials.
• Familiarity with space environment effects on materials, including radiation, thermal cycling, and atomic oxygen.
• Experience with CAD software (NX, CATIA, SolidWorks) and practical GD&T application.
• Independent and self-motivated mindset with strong organizational, written, and oral communication skills.

Compensation and Benefits

• Base salary range: $110,000 - $160,000 + equity in the company.
• Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks.