Senior Solar Process Engineer

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by $450M from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, Redpoint Ventures, T. Rowe Price, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Alpine Space Ventures, and others – with an additional $500M in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers – we’re mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space.   The rise of heavy-lift launch vehicles is shifting the industry from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance, and we believe this new era demands a fundamentally different class of spacecraft. Engineered to survive the harshest radiation environments and to fully capitalize on today’s and tomorrow’s massive rockets, K2 satellites deliver unmatched capability at constellation scale and across multiple orbits.   With multiple launches planned through 2026 and 2027, we're Building Bigger to develop the solar system and become a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization.  If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a groundbreaking Series C space startup, we’d love for you to apply.   The Role   The processes that go into developing K2's solar arrays — from module interconnects and adhesive systems to cover glass coatings and substrate composites — directly determine how much power they produce, how long they last, and how fast we can build them. Getting the process engineering right is not a support function here; it is on the critical path.   You will develop, qualify, and optimize manufacturing processes for K2's solar array systems. The operating environments, mission lifetimes, and production rates we are pursuing demand meaningful impact in how our materials are characterized, qualified, and manufactured. You will own the execution of process development for material systems and novel manufacturing processes as we scale K2's solar array design into production.   Responsibilities   Responsible for the development, qualification, and production-scale optimization of K2 solar array processes — including solar module interconnects, bonding, sintering, lamination, deposition, coating, bonding, mechanism joints, and surface treatment   Research, evaluate, and support selection of conventional and novel processes for solar array applications, contributing to trades that balance performance, manufacturability, cost, reliability, and schedule   Design and execution of structured DOE and statistical analyses to diagnose manufacturing problems and validate corrective actions   Use a first-principle, physics-based characterization across production processes to identify sources of variation and opportunities for yield improvement   Lead failure analysis, defect characterization, and root causes investigations for process related anomalies   Establish and drive corrective action plans back into design requirements and production   Own the evaluation, cost/benefit analysis, and selection of manufacturing equipment for all in-house process development   Collaborate with the production team to develop process specifications, work instructions, in-process checkouts, and end-of-line tests   Define qualification criteria, test envelopes, and characterization campaigns to establish resultant performance across radiation, thermal cycling, mechanical, and plasma environments   Partner with solar structures/mechanisms, thermal, avionics, and production teams to define manufacturing process-driven requirements, integrated qualification/acceptance testing, and on-orbit data review   Mentor junior engineers on process engineering fundamentals and solar array manufacturing best practices   Qualifications   Bachelor's degree in materials science, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, physics, aerospace engineering, or a related technical discipline   5+ years of experience in materials and process engineering, with a strong foundation in materials science and engineering principles   Hands-on experience with material characterization, testing, and process development for hardware applications   Nice to Have   Master's degree or PhD in materials science, chemical engineering, or a related field   Prior experience developing and qualifying manufacturing processes for solar array systems across the full development lifecycle — requirements definition, trade studies, development testing, qualification, production, and on-orbit data review   Hands-on experience across multiple solar array material systems, with variation in cell technology, interconnect methodology, encapsulant chemistry, and system architecture   Deep working knowledge of adhesive systems, composites, thin films, thermal interface materials, and coatings as applied to high-power, long-life solar array hardware   Working knowledge of AIAA S111/S112, SMC-S-016, NASA-STD-4005, NASA-STD-5017, and NASA-STD-6016 for solar module qualification, materials usage, and spacecraft charging effects   Understanding of radiation effects on solar cell and module materials — displacement damage dose modeling, ionizing effects, UV degradation, and atomic oxygen erosion   Depth across solar process disciplines including deposition techniques for anti-reflective coatings, chemical etching for bond preparation, encapsulant deposition, methods for corrosion control, outgassing compatibility, descriptive and inferential statistics, and failure analysis   Hands-on proficiency with material characterization tools: SEM, EDS, FTIR, DSC, TGA, XRD, or equivalent   Experience scaling manufacturing processes from prototype to high-rate production, including SPC implementation and manufacturing equipment qualification   Python or MATLAB proficiency for test data analysis and degradation mode