The opportunity
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.
What you'll do
Own and drive strategy for wet-process materials and chemistry across silicon: ingot and wafer production—degumming, saw-damage etch, cleaning, surface conditioning, and silicon recycle/reclaim—from path-finding and tool/recipe qualification through production-ready baths, specs, and long-term lifecycle management
Lead cross-functional efforts with process, equipment, quality, production,: supply chain, and water treatment to source, qualify, and dual-source critical wet chemicals and consumables that reduce risk and support aggressive scale and cost targets
Define and own chemical requirements, bath recipes, concentration windows,: lifetime limits, and acceptance criteria; ensure they accurately reflect process needs, contamination budgets, quality standards, and manufacturability at rate
Architect and execute rigorous wet-process qualification programs—including: characterization, process trials, reliability assessment, and production-readiness reviews—then drive clean hand-off into manufacturing
Serve as the primary technical escalation for wet-process, contamination, and: surface-quality issues; lead root cause investigations to first principles and implement durable, data-driven corrective actions with urgency
Apply deep materials and surface-chemistry fundamentals (etch kinetics,: oxide/HF chemistry, metal gettering and contamination, particle adhesion, bath aging) to anticipate failure modes, guide selection, and unlock performance or cost gains
What they're looking for
- Identify and champion path-finding opportunities—alternative chemistries, new: suppliers, bath-life extension, recycle/reclaim, or process changes—that deliver measurable improvements in wafer quality, cell efficiency, yield, uptime, and cost, while remaining compatible with UPW and closed-loop/ZLD wastewater constraints
- Stand up wet-process and wet-lab capability at a high technical bar; own bath: monitoring strategy, filtration and chemical-delivery requirements, data integrity, and SPC so results can be trusted for process decisions
- Mentor peers and partner teams on wet-process problem solving, engineering: judgment, and qualification best practices; hold a high bar for technical rigor, safety, and chemical handling across the organization
- Communicate technical status, risks, and strategic recommendations to: leadership; align priorities and secure support for critical wet-process initiatives. Champion a culture of safety, quality, and extreme ownership in all chemical handling, wet-bench, lab, and manufacturing activities
