Supplier Development Engineer, Photovoltaics (Starlink)

• ◆Own end-to-end supplier development and manufacturing bring-up for the photovoltaic supply chain within the Starlink User Terminal Bill of Materials, spanning polysilicon, ingots, wafers, solar cells, and module integration
• ◆Engage early with suppliers on selection, equipment selection, and process engineering to properly set up high-volume manufacturing programs by ensuring material and process corners are fully characterized and completed
• ◆Lead the bring-up of solar cell manufacturing lines while also supporting upstream wafer, ingot, and polysilicon supply chain development to enable high-volume module output
• ◆Assess supplier manufacturing capabilities with strong emphasis on solar cell fabrication processes including texturing, diffusion, passivation, anti-reflective coating, metallization, and cell testing, along with upstream silicon material processes
• ◆Lead new product introduction (NPI) activities, production part approval process (PPAP), first article inspections (FAI), production rate ramps, and qualification campaigns to enable full-rate, high-volume manufacturing
• ◆Develop and execute robust qualification plans covering polysilicon purity, ingot quality, wafer specifications, solar cell efficiency, reliability, and overall module performance
• ◆Implement artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for process control, defect detection, yield optimization, and predictive analytics in solar cell manufacturing
• ◆Create and standardize qualification protocols across the supply base, including equipment buy-off checklists, factory acceptance tests (FAT), site acceptance tests (SAT), and consistent reliability demonstration methods
• ◆Drive supplier performance improvement through Lean methodologies, supplier scorecards, process audits, and systematic problem solving to deliver measurable gains in quality, yield, cost, and on-time delivery
• ◆Perform reactive quality engineering support, including rapid containment, root cause analysis using eight disciplines (8D) and five-whys (5-Why) methodologies, and corrective actions for quality escapes, field returns, and production issues
• ◆Own on-time delivery of qualification and production ramp activities while continuously monitoring field performance, reacting quickly to issues, and feeding lessons learned from field data back to design and process engineering teams for iterative product and process improvement
• ◆Partner closely with Solar Cell Design Engineering, Process Engineering, Test Engineering, and Production teams to ensure supplier processes and manufacturing capability align with Starlink’s aggressive high-volume product

and performance goals

• ✓Bachelor’s degree in materials science, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, or a other engineering discipline
• ✓1+ years of experience in solar photovoltaic manufacturing, crystalline silicon supply chain, or supplier development ( internship and extracurricular experience is applicable)

• ✓3+ years of experience in solar photovoltaic manufacturing, crystalline silicon supply chain, or supplier development
• ✓Strong technical background in solar cell fabrication and upstream silicon processes
• ✓Hands-on experience bringing up solar cell manufacturing lines, with preference for advanced high-efficiency technologies such as Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact (TOPCon), Heterojunction Technology (HJT), Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell (PERC), and Interdigitated Back Contact (IBC)
• ✓Deep knowledge of crystalline silicon photovoltaic processes including polysilicon refining, ingot crystallization (Czochralski or directional solidification), wafer slicing, texturing, diffusion, passivation, metallization, and cell testing
• ✓Experience with production part approval process (PPAP), advanced product quality planning (APQP), design failure mode and effects analysis (DFMEA), and process failure mode and effects analysis (PFMEA)
• ✓Strong understanding of manufacturing capability assessment, yield