Head of PV Device Engineering
Arinna
South San Francisco, CA, USA
Posted on Dec 8, 2025
About Arinna
Arinna is building the energy core of Space 3.0 and frontier tech. We’re pioneering ultra-light, power-dense solar platforms based on next-generation 2D semiconductors, enabling a step-change in how and where solar power can be deployed — from satellites and high-altitude aircraft to lunar and Martian infrastructure. Spun out of Stanford University, Arinna combines breakthroughs in materials science, device physics, and scalable manufacturing to deliver the most power-efficient and lightweight solar technology ever built. With over $370M in LOIs/off-take agreements and a clear roadmap from pilot (2026) to gigawatt-scale production by 2030, we’re on a mission to power the next generation of space and terrestrial systems. We’re backed by leading deep-tech investors and advised by industry pioneers. Our headquarters and pilot facility are in South San Francisco, CA, where we’re scaling our team across R&D, manufacturing, and systems integration.
About the Role
The Head of PV Development will be one of Arinna’s first technical leaders and a key contributor to the performance advancement of our next-generation TMD photovoltaic architecture. You will drive improvements in device efficiency and reliability — translating fundamental materials and interface discoveries into world-class solar performance.
Your work will center on developing, refining, and scaling the photovoltaic stack — absorber, transport layers, contacts, and encapsulation — to achieve record-setting power-to-mass and radiation tolerance. You’ll collaborate closely with materials and manufacturing teams to link device design, thin-film quality, and roll-to-roll process compatibility, guiding Arinna’s technology from prototype to pilot-line production.
What You'll Do
- Design, optimize, and validate multilayer TMD photovoltaic device architectures (absorber, transport layers, contacts, encapsulation).
- Diagnose and address performance bottlenecks — recombination, shunting, resistance, parasitic absorption — through interfacial and materials engineering.
- Establish quantitative metrics and test workflows (J–V, EQE, PL, EL, impedance, stability, and accelerated aging).
- Collaborate with materials and manufacturing teams to ensure device stack compatibility with R2R-scale coating and processing.
- Develop and maintain comprehensive data linking material properties, deposition parameters, and device performance.
- Drive improvement in Voc, Jsc, FF, and long-term operational stability through physics-driven experimentation.
- Lead advanced characterization efforts (e.g., transient photovoltage/current, Raman, XPS, TEM) to guide device understanding.
- Engage with external partners and suppliers on advanced materials, contacts, and encapsulants.
- Contribute to Arinna’s intellectual property and technical validation efforts.
- Build and mentor a small, high-performing PV device team as Arinna scales.
Qualifications
- M.S. or Ph.D. in Materials Science, Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
- 5+ years of hands-on experience developing and optimizing thin-film photovoltaic devices (TMD, perovskite, CIGS, CdTe, or similar).
- Proven ability to improve device performance through materials, interface, or process innovations.
- Strong understanding of semiconductor device physics, energy band alignment, and recombination mechanisms.
- Experience with thin-film and interfacial characterization (e.g., JV, EQE, PL, AFM, SEM, XPS, etc.).
- Familiarity with process–performance correlations and scaling from lab to pilot.
- Comfort working in a fast-paced startup environment — experimental, data-driven, and hands-on.
- Excellent communication and documentation skills; ability to work cross-functionally with materials and manufacturing teams.
- Experience leading technical teams and coordinating cross-disciplinary R&D.
What Defines Success at Arinna
- Excellence in Execution: You bring rigor, precision, and attention to detail to every experiment.
- Collaborative Energy: You elevate those around you through positive engagement and open communication.
- Candor and Trust: You communicate with clarity and integrity to enable faster iteration and collective learning.
- Curiosity and Adaptability: You embrace the unknown as an opportunity to explore, experiment, and improve.
- Mission Focus: You are motivated by impact and driven to help build technology that advances the clean energy future.