Sr. TPV Process Development Engineer

<div class="content-intro"><p>Antora Energy delivers affordable, reliable energy to industry, data centers, and the grid. Our thermal batteries turn low-cost electricity into always-on heat and power, without supply-constrained critical minerals or multi-year construction timelines.</p> <p>We are growing our company with people who put team and mission first, value connection through laughter and joy, and work with humility and openness. We are committed to building a diverse, passionate, and creative team dedicated to a future powered by abundant, clean, low-cost energy.</p></div><h5> </h5> <h5> </h5> <h5><strong>Position Summary</strong></h5> <p> </p> <p>Antora is seeking a Process Development Engineer to help drive continued improvements in thermophotovoltaic (TPV) performance. This engineer will own key optical thin-film processes and play a central role in the optical and device modeling that guides Antora's broader efficiency roadmap.</p> <p> </p> <p>The role combines hands-on cleanroom process development with optical design, device modeling, metrology, data analysis, and experimental design. You will use these tools to identify and prioritize the highest-impact opportunities for improving TPV performance, develop and validate solutions in the fab, and translate them into measurable gains in device performance.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <h5><strong>Roles & Responsibilities</strong></h5> <p> </p> <ul> <li>Develop and own optical thin-film deposition processes and equipment. This includes coating design, process development, qualification, troubleshooting, process control, and user training.</li> <li>Own the process-side roadmap for improving TPV efficiency. This includes building and using optical and device-level models in Python, with AI-assisted coding and analysis used extensively to accelerate development.</li> <li>Characterize thin films and establish reliable metrology and process controls for properties such as thickness, refractive index, reflectance, uniformity, stress, and adhesion.</li> <li>Compare model predictions with measured device performance, then use the results to improve the models and guide further process development.</li> <li>Plan and run structured process experiments, using tools such as Python, JMP, and AI to analyze results and accelerate process development.</li> </ul> <h5> </h5> <h5><strong>Key Qualifications</strong></h5> <p> </p> <ul> <li>Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of experience, Master’s degree with 3+ years of experience, or PhD in physics, optics, electrical engineering, materials science, chemical engineering, or a related technical field.</li> <li>Hands-on experience with physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques such as electron-beam evaporation, thermal evaporation, or sputtering.</li> <li>Demonstrated success developing and qualifying optical thin-film deposition processes.</li> <li>Optical and device-modeling expertise, including designing and optimizing multilayer thin-film stacks and validating model predictions against measured film or device data.</li> <li>Practical knowledge of thin-film characterization and metrology techniques such as reflectometry, FTIR, spectrophotometry, ellipsometry, or related methods.</li> <li>Strong knowledge of semiconductor device physics, particularly photovoltaics, III-V semiconductors, or other optoelectronic devices.</li> <li>Proficiency in Python or similar computational tools for data processing, visualization, modeling, and automation.</li> <li>Effective use of AI-assisted tools for coding,