R&D Process Technician (Night Shift) | Swift Solar | San Carlos, CA
As a Process Technician on our night shift (10:00 PM – 6:30 AM PST) at Swift, you will play a central role in advancing the next generation of solar technology. You’ll help operate, refine, and scale our thin-film deposition processes, directly supporting our transition from R&D to manufacturable, high-throughput systems.
A typical night begins with a thorough review of the outgoing shift’s pass-down notes, carrying out experimental plans using the lab tools you’ve been trained on, and carefully documenting and sharing your results for the incoming day team. Because you’ll be one of a small number of people on-site, more of the role requires independent judgment—knowing when to troubleshoot on your own, when to escalate to an on-call engineer, and how to make sound decisions that keep experiments moving forward safely and accurately.
Much of the role still involves repeatable, detail-oriented work, following procedures, recording parameters, and monitoring tool performance to ensure consistent output. As you grow in the role, you’ll also take on responsibilities such as tracking supplies, flagging workflow issues, helping refine procedures, and writing thorough shift handoff logs so the day team can hit the ground running.
Because we’re an early-stage startup, you’ll get involved in many parts of the company. You’ll learn to adapt to new tools, experiments, and processes while contributing to Swift’s evolving technical capabilities. In this dynamic environment, you’ll find many opportunities to grow your skills, and we encourage you to take full advantage of them.
You might be a good fit if you…
- Have experience working in a hands-on laboratory environment
- Are comfortable working independently with minimal supervision
- Take ownership of your work and proactively flag issues rather than waiting to be told
- Excel at writing clear, thorough shift handoff notes, the day team depends on what you document
- Are eager to learn new skills and take initiative without being prompted
- Excel at multitasking and managing your time effectively
- Are excited to collaborate with scientists and support experimental work
