4094 - R&D Reliability Engineer - San Jose, CA

The solar electric industry is an exciting and rapidly growing business, providing excellent career opportunities and the great satisfaction of having a positive impact on the environment. SunPower Corp. (www.sunpowercorp.com) designs, manufactures and deploys the world’s highest efficiency solar panels, and is a leading global provider of large-scale solar power systems, with over 350 megawatts contracted or in construction.
SunPower’s R&D team developed the original 20% all-back contact solar cell in 2005, released the 22% cells in 2007 and is presently working on the next generation technology. Enabling this high rate of innovation while maintaining world-class reliability requires a deep understanding what makes efficiency degrade over time. The ideal candidate is motivated by solving the highly complex puzzles embodied in the physics of cell and module degradation.
We are looking for an exceptionally smart and motivated candidate who has demonstrated a capacity for scientific innovation and leadership.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
• Develop reliability qualification methods and requirements for PV cells, and module packaging, to support the 25 year warranty in various field conditions.
• Develop new accelerated tests for manufacturing ongoing reliability testing.
• Conduct failure analysis on solar cells and modules that have failed accelerated testing and determine the degradation mechanism(s).
• Innovate, and provide technical leadership for solving challenging technical problems with a positive, solution-oriented approach.
Education, Experience, and Qualifications
• Masters or B.S. in Engineering, Chemistry, Material Science, Physics or related fields required.
• Demonstrated capability in experimental design, uncertainty analysis, instrumentation and statistical interpretation.
• Clear communication style, with the ability to create compelling presentations for varied audiences.
• Familiarity with failure analysis techniques.
• Familiarity with silicon solar cells, characterization of PV cells and panels, degradation models, acceleration factors, standard testing methodologies, etc., is preferred.
• Creative, self-motivated and self-directed, and able to multi-task a large variety of projects in a fast-paced environment.
SunPower offers an attractive compensation package that consists of a competitive salary and equity. The company also offers an array of generous employee benefits.

Please send resume to David.Sneed@sunpowercorp.com.