Senior Manufacturing Engineer - Space Solar

Job description

Senior Manufacturing Engineer – Space Solar Position Details Location: Los Angeles (Hawthorne), CA Employment Type: Full-time Department: Starlight Solar Travel: Frequent About Starpath Starpath develops and manufactures the technologies that will enable humans to live on the Moon and Mars. Today, we are building robotic systems that locally produce the essential commodities a lunar civilization will require at extreme scale: water, power, and oxygen. Our ultimate goal is to build and operate a self-sustaining city on Mars. The Role The Starlight team is focused on dramatically improving space solar power to support Starpath's core mission and the greater space economy. Starlight manufactures the lowest cost and highest performance space solar ever, which will power the majority of new satellites built on Earth and all of Starpath's equipment on the Moon and Mars. As a Senior Manufacturing Engineer on the Starlight team, you will own the most critical processes on our space solar manufacturing line — defining how we scale from prototype to high-rate flight production. You'll set the technical direction for process development, drive yield and rate across the line, and mentor a growing manufacturing engineering team. Responsibilities - Own the technical strategy for key manufacturing processes — including cell-interconnect-coverglass (CIC) integration, interconnect welding, coverglass attach, and panel layup — from development through high-rate production - Drive yield, rate, and cost across the solar manufacturing line, setting and hitting performance targets that scale with the business - Design and qualify precision tooling and automated cells that protect fragile hardware, eliminate assembly error, and minimize cycle time - Lead automation initiatives for novel processes such as cell laydown, interconnect bonding, and coverglass placement to ensure repeatability at scale - Partner deeply with cell and panel design engineering to shape solar array architecture through design for manufacturing (DFM), driving decisions that materially reduce cost and complexity downstream - Stand up in-process inspection systems — electroluminescence imaging, IV/flash test, and automated optical inspection of weld and bond joints — to catch defects at the source and continuously improve first-pass yield - Lead the handoff of solar hardware from development into production, ensuring processes are documented, stable, and ready to scale - Mentor manufacturing engineers, set technical bar, and grow the team's capability as the line scales - Push back on unnecessary complexity — simplify specs, streamline workflows, and cut overhead wherever it doesn't add value Required Qualifications - Bachelor's or advanced degree in aerospace, manufacturing, materials, mechanical, electrical, or a related engineering discipline - 6+ years of manufacturing and process design experience, with demonstrated ownership of processes from development through production - Track record of taking manufacturing processes from prototype through qualification and into stable, high-rate production - Experience leading technical work across cross-functional teams (design, quality, operations, supply chain) Preferred Qualifications - Master's degree in an engineering discipline - Direct experience manufacturing photovoltaic hardware — solar cells, strings, panels, or arrays — ideally multi-junction (III-V) cells for space or other high-reliability applications - Deep expertise in cell interconnect joining processes such as parallel-gap resistance welding or tab bonding, including process development, qualification, and weld/bond inspection - Hands-on experience scaling a manufacturing line from low-rate prototype to high-rate production, including rate readiness reviews and yield improvement campaigns - Experience leading automation programs — defining requirements, selecting integrators, and qualifying automated cells for production use - Proficiency with coverglass attach, encapsulation, and adhesive/RTV bonding processes for solar hardware - Strong background in electrical characterization of solar cells and panels — LIV/flash testing, electroluminescence, and IV-curve analysis - Proficiency in FMEA, statistical process control (Cp/Cpk), and root-cause investigation methodologies - Experience using SQL or other data management tools to drive priorities and measure line performance - Prior experience mentoring or leading manufacturing engineers - Exposure to aerospace, space, or other high-reliability hardware environments Compensation & Benefits - Location: Los Angeles (Hawthorne), CA - Competitive salary plus equity package; compensation scales with candidate experience - PTO & health/dental/vision coverage included EAR REQUIREMENTS: - To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Equal Opportunity Starpath is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.