Process Engineer; Cell

Summary

The Cell Process Team maintains and develops manufacturing processes mainly to enhance the overall performance of solar cell products, including power conversion efficiency, defect rate, manufacturing cost, etc. The Process Engineer is responsible for optimizing the process condition of the corresponding process step (deposition, laser, metal, thermal, or wet, etc.) in manufacturing solar cells.

Title: Cell Process Engineer

Location: Cartersville, GA

The Cell Process Team maintains and develops manufacturing processes mainly to enhance the overall performance of solar cell products, including power conversion efficiency, defect rate, manufacturing cost, etc. The Process Engineer is responsible for optimizing the process condition of the corresponding process step (deposition, laser, metal, thermal, or wet, etc.) in manufacturing solar cells.

• Analyze and troubleshoot process performance and establish improvement plans.
• Improve the cost of cell material (wafer, gas, chemical, metal paste) by reducing consumption.
• Optimize process conditions and materials to improve the optical and electrical quality of solar cells.
• Train and evaluate the performance of assigned Technicians.
• Evaluate process setting and stability of new cell production model in mass‑production standpoint.
• Manage procedure of new solar cell model testing to mass production.
• Implement process/material development strategies, such as solar‑cell efficiency improvement, cell manufacturing cost reduction, etc.
• Research foundational process/material through market intelligence, analysis, and characterization.
• Develop and test mass production reliability of proprietary process/material.
• Provide and train standard operating procedures (SOP) and out‑of‑control action plans (OCAP) related to cell processes.
• Decide specification of process condition, material model & consumption, cell product performance & quality, etc.
• Define related cell process standard documents, such as Parameter Sheets (PAS), Bill of Materials (BOM), and Optical/Electrical Sorting Criteria of cells (OSC/ESC).
• Establish a standard process environment based on quality control standards.
• Modify cell process setting in accordance with solar module performance/quality requirements.
• All other duties assigned by management or that require immediate attention by Team members.

• B.S. in Material Science, Physics, Chemistry, Semiconductor, or related field with Minimum 3 years of experience in process engineering/researching for a manufacturer/institution.
• M.S. in Material Science, Physics, Chemistry, Semiconductor, or a related field with research experience in the related research topic.
• Basic understanding of the characteristics of semiconductor or photovoltaic device/process.
• Strong understanding of production processes related to thin film deposition and dielectric characteristics (deposition); ray/laser optics and laser ablation/patterning (laser); electrical contacts and paste‑rheology (metallization); thermal diffusion in solid and p‑n junction formation (thermal); or chemical etching/polishing/cleaning of inorganic materials (wet).
• Statistical analysis skills utilizing relevant software (Excel, Mini‑tab, JMP, Spotfire, etc.) to interpret data and derive conclusions.

• Ph.D. in Material Science, Physics, Chemistry, Semiconductor, or related field.
• Experience in semiconductor, display manufacturing, or related industrial/research areas.
• Experience with micro‑structure analysis tools (SEM, TEM, EDX, SIMS, etc.) or optical/electrical characterization tools (UV-VIS, I-V, Resistance).

Hanwha Q CELLS provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics.