R&D Engineer, Thin Film Solution Processing

Tandem PV is a U.S.-based solar technology company specializing in the development and manufacture of perovskite-silicon tandem solar panels. The company combines thin-film perovskite layers with conventional silicon modules to produce panels that have achieved 30% efficiency, representing approximately 40% more power output in the same physical footprint compared to standard silicon panels. Tandem PV targets utility-scale solar infrastructure and is designed to integrate seamlessly into existing solar supply chains. The company's mission centers on restoring U.S. leadership in solar manufacturing and delivering a generational step change in solar performance at a time when global energy demand is surging due to AI growth, electrification, and energy security needs. Conventional silicon solar technology has approached its practical efficiency limits, and Tandem PV positions its perovskite-silicon tandem approach as the critical next phase of solar evolution, manufactured domestically in the United States. What distinguishes Tandem PV is its combination of industry-leading efficiency, demonstrated long-term durability — with accelerated testing showing less than 1% annual degradation — and a lower total cost of ownership by generating more energy per panel without significantly increasing cost per watt. The company holds a growing portfolio of patents covering perovskite-layer technology, system design, and durability innovations, and has attracted backing from notable investors including Eclipse. Former U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has joined its board, underscoring the company's strategic significance in clean energy.

At Tandem PV, we are a team of people who are passionate about building a more sustainable world by bringing cost effective solar panels onto the market. We’re scaling metal-halide perovskite solar technology to make best-in-class mechanically stacked tandem modules.   We have built efficient, durable cells, monolithic multi-cell submodules, and packaged modules with our scalable, low-cost process. Our next focus is expanding our team to work in our new pilot manufacturing facility.

In this critical role, you will work closely with a team of engineers and technicians in our R&D laboratory to execute and develop thin-film solution deposition processes for perovskite solar modules.

Your primary focus will be operating and developing processes for our newly arrived line writing or microdispensing tool — a critical step in module fabrication. This work draws on skills shared with microdispensing's more established cousins, screen printing and inkjet printing. Depending on your background and team priorities, you may also contribute to adjacent thin-film process development, including ongoing work on blanket thin-film encapsulation.

You will interface directly with colleagues across teams to develop and execute experimental plans that advance the performance and durability of our perovskite modules.

To be great at this role, you will have:

• A can-do attitude: To be a bit corny, you blaze a trail where there is none, rather than identify obstacles for others to clear.

• Comfort with uncertainty: You will often be operating in an environment requiring autonomy in judgment and action, and will need to identify, communicate, and execute on a plan and report when you identify issues.

• Flexibility: You have broad capabilities in the laboratory and can flex in several directions (at once, if need be) to solve multifaceted problems that defy disciplinary boundaries.

• An interest in learning: If you don't know anything about our product, but want to live in a better world and are willing to learn from your coworkers and independently, we may have a place for you.

• A goal-oriented mindset: You come to work to achieve objectives, not check off items on a list. You're focused on getting your work product past the goalpost, and you don't put it down until you've done that.

• Pride in your work: You clean up after yourself; you take an extra few minutes to label or tidy or otherwise organize your space; you want to "do it right."

• Communication skills: You can clearly communicate about what you did in the lab, or you can give a headline because your colleague is in a hurry. You are comfortable presenting to a group; you can balance frankness with tact and kindness.

Qualifications:

We can teach a lot, but there are some basics you'll need to know to hit the ground running. That includes:

• Work experience that shows you are willing to push projects forward and work as a team to accomplish goals.

• Work in a scientific or engineering related industry. Experience with solution processing of semiconductor thin films would be ideal but is not a requirement. Directly relevant adjacent experience that we'd love to see includes hands-on work with microdispensing, screen printing, or inkjet printing. Experience with coating and curing processes — such as aerosol/spray coating or epoxy coating (e.g., from the battery industry) — is also of interest.

• Hands-on laboratory experience is a plus.

• Able to take detailed and meticulous notes of processing conditions and observations when running experiments and processes.

• Driven to accomplish tasks toward producing solar modules and progressing as a larger team to make high-performing and durable perovskite modules.

• Thick-film printing experience (>1um)

• High viscosity printing experience (>1,000 cP)

• Thick-film curing experience (UV, moisture, thermal, multi-cure)

• Thick-film metrology and material properties (profilometry, microscopy, electrical measurements such as contact resistance, shrinkage, thixotropy, and others)

What we offer:

An awesome team of dedicated technologists changing the way the world is powered! If that’s not enough, we’ll take good care of you and your family with:

• Flexible PTO

• Healthcare coverage

• Life Insurance

• Long-term & Short-term Disability

• Parental leave

• Meaningful equity

Tandem PV uses perovskite & silicon mechanically-stacked tandems to upgrade silicon solar panels, sharply decreasing installed systems costs, significantly increasing module manufacturing profit margins, and opening up vast new solar markets in the US and worldwide. TPV was co-founded by Stanford PhDs Colin Bailie and Chris Eberspacher; is advised by industry experts from Corning, First Solar, Vivint Solar, and Kateeva; has raised more than $50M in Series A funding. We were recently recognized as the Best Pre-Commercial Venture of 2025 by the Industry Growth Forum (IGF)

We are a team of people who are passionate about building a more sustainable world by delivering a new generation of solar panels to the market. We are constantly growing and are always looking for dedicated, hardworking, and empathetic teammates.

Tandem PV is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply.