Development Engineer III – Wet Coatings | First Solar | Perrysburg, OH

Basic Job Functions:

Development of wet coated films for photovoltaic devices stacks on glass substrates for improved performance or new product designs.  Design, execute, and analyze screening and optimization tests. Implement into production of cost-effective formulations and processes.

Education/Experience:

• Associate’s Degree in an engineering (Chemical or Mechanical) discipline or similar technical (Materials Science, Polymer Science, Physics) discipline and 20 years of relevant technical experience or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer II at First Solar.
• Bachelor’s Degree in an engineering (Chemical or Mechanical) discipline or similar technical (Materials Science, Polymer Science, Physics) discipline and 10 years of relevant technical experience or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer II at First Solar.
• Master’s Degree in an engineering (Chemical or Mechanical) discipline or similar technical (Materials Science, Polymer Science, Physics) discipline and 8 years of relevant technical experience or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer II at First Solar.
• Ph.D. in an engineering (Chemical or Mechanical) discipline or similar technical (Materials Science, Polymer Science, Physics) discipline and 5 years of relevant technical experience or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer II at First Solar.
• 5+ years’ experience in engineering with exposure to high-volume manufacturing.
• Experience with wet coating / drying processes on glass and design of experiments.
• Experience with equipment and chemical supply vendors and R&D teams for formulation development in determination of acceptable process windows to meet coated layer functional requirements.

Required Skills/Competencies:

• Experience with wet coating and drying equipment
• Familiarity with the fluid mechanics and drying unit operations
• Familiarity of semiconductor device physics at basic level
• Familiarity with film characterization techniques and measurements such as XRD, SEM, SIMS, AFM, XPS and DMA etc.
• Mechanical aptitude with willingness for hands on equipment upgrades
• Demonstrated experience with statistical data analyses, such as Multivariate Analysis, Regression Analysis, Design of Experiments, and Measurement System Analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate and execute multi-factor experiments in a manufacturing production environment.
• Experience with using statistical software (Minitab, JMP preferred)
• Knowledge of MS Office software (strong knowledge of MS Access preferred)
• Excellent communications skills
• Proven organizational skills

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