The Role

T1 is seeking a Senior Wet Etch Engineer to develop, qualify, and own the wet chemical processes used to manufacture TOPCon solar cells at scale, including texturing, cleaning, and etch steps. You’ll apply a physics-based approach to process development, partner across engineering teams, and drive cell efficiency and yield improvement as we bring a new high-volume fab online.

What You'll Do

• Develop, qualify, and own wet processes for TOPCon cell manufacturing, including saw damage removal, alkaline texturing, rear-side etch and polish, edge isolation, and pre-deposition and pre-diffusion cleans

• Own bath chemistry, concentration control, temperature management, dosing, and bath life for alkaline, acidic, and oxidizing chemistries, including HF, KOH/NaOH, and ozone-based steps

• Optimize BSG, PSG, and polysilicon wrap-around removal, texture quality, reflectance, and surface cleanliness to improve cell efficiency, minority carrier lifetime, and passivation performance

• Qualify inline and batch wet process tools from installation through production readiness, partnering with Equipment, Metrology, and Quality on process matching, particle and metal contamination control, and wafer breakage reduction

• Lead root cause analysis for yield excursions and efficiency losses using a first-principles, physics-based approach, and establish inline metrology and control strategies to drive systematic improvement

• Support 24/7 manufacturing operations through rotations, on-call availability, and rapid response to critical production issues

• Drive next-generation wet chemistry formulations, additives, and process development to reduce cost and improve cell performance

Who You Are

• A wet process practitioner — you know wet etch and wet clean well and have hands-on development and manufacturing experience to back it up

• A first-principles thinker who looks for the mechanism behind a result, not just the recipe that produced it

• Rigorous and data-driven, with strong Design of Experiments and statistical analysis skills

• Collaborative and proactive across process, equipment, metrology, quality, and R&D teams

• Energized by the challenge of scaling advanced cell technology in a new fab environment

Qualifications

• Degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field, or equivalent experience

• 5+ years of hands-on wet process engineering experience in solar cell or semiconductor manufacturing, with a strong preference for TOPCon or other high-efficiency cell technologies

• Deep experience with wet process development, tool qualification, and establishing process baselines and control plans in high-volume manufacturing

• Working knowledge of texturing, cleaning, and etch chemistries and their impact on surface passivation, lifetime, and cell efficiency

• Proficiency with wet process metrology, including reflectance, film thickness, particle and defect inspection, lifetime measurement, and surface analysis techniques

• Strong Design of Experiments skills and statistical analysis capability

• Experience handling hazardous chemicals safely

About T1 Energy

At T1 Energy (NYSE: TE), we build energy. We are an American solar manufacturer building the future of energy abundance. From our headquarters in Austin, Texas, we’re pioneering a domestic solar supply chain with one mission: to invigorate America with scalable, reliable, and low-cost energy.

We started with G1_Dallas, one of the most advanced solar manufacturing facilities in the world. The 5GW facility is located in Wilmer, Texas. It has the capacity to produce more than 20,000 solar modules a day for solar farms that power American homes, businesses, and keep our energy grids resilient.

Next is G2_Austin: Our new solar cell fab in Rockdale, Texas. Its first 2.1GW phase is designed to produce next-generation TOPCon cells beginning in 2027. As the fab grows, it’s expected to support up to 1,800 manufacturing jobs. Modules assembled at G1 can run on cells from G2.