Manufacturing Technology Engineer
US$80,500 – US$115,000 / yr base salary
Posted 27 Apr 2026
Advertised as “Engineer- Manufacturing Technology Scaling I USA”
BranchFactor Summary
The original posting with the fluff stripped out
- Level
- I
- Expected experience
- 3+ yrs
- Management level
- People management
| Base salary | US$80,500 – US$115,000 / yr |
|---|
Field of studyEngineering (or related)
Study levelAssociate degree or higher
First Solar reserves the right to offer you a role most applicable to your experience and skillset.
Basic Job Functions:
- Develop, scale-up, and transfer of new and emerging thin-film manufacturing processes that may include vacuum deposition, wet coatings and cleans, laser process and module packaging, lamination and electrical testing processes.
- Qualify and sustain new process equipment in a 24x7 manufacturing environment.
- Participate in troubleshooting to meet and improve Safety, Throughput, Yield and Performance benchmarks.
- Use structured problem-solving (e.g., DMAIC, 8D) and statistical methods (DOE, SPC) to identify, test, and implement continuous improvements.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams for problem solving and technology scaling.
- Datamine and Visualize process and equipment data using industry standard tools like SQL, Python, JMP, PowerBI.
Education/Experience:
- Associate’s Degree in an engineering discipline or similar technical discipline and 12 years of relevant technical experience or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer I or Manufacturing Engineer I at First Solar.
- Bachelor’s Degree in an engineering discipline or similar technical discipline and 5 years of relevant technical experience or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer I or Manufacturing Engineer I at First Solar.
- Master’s Degree in an engineering discipline or similar technical discipline and 3 years of relevant technical experience or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer II or Manufacturing Engineer I at First Solar.
- Ph.D. in engineering discipline or similar technical discipline or 2 years of experience as a Development Engineer I or Manufacturing Engineer I at First Solar.
- Prior experience in a Semiconductor or PV R&D or Mfg Setting in one or more of the following areas Thin-Film Deposition (Magnetron Sputtering, CVD, evaporation) OR Thermal processing in semiconductor or glass industry (continuous or batch ovens) OR Wet Coatings (Slot-Die, Ink-Jet, Roller or Blade Coating), Automation (Robots and AGV Material Handling) OR Laser Processing (Scribing, Cleaning, Marking) OR Process/ Device Integration (Semiconductor or PV R&D or Mfg Setting) is required.
Required Skills/Competencies:
- Demonstrated experience and knowledge in one or more areas including thin film deposition (PVD, ALD, CVD), thermal processing, wet coatings (ink-jet, spray, roll-coating), laser processing, and metrology.
- Demonstrated Hands-On experience in Mechanical and Process troubleshooting.