Position Details:
Location: Los Angeles (Hawthorne), CA
Employment Type: Full-time
Department: Starlight Solar
Travel: Occasional
The Mission
Starpath develops and manufactures the technologies that will enable humans to live on the Moon and Mars. Today, we are building robotic systems that locally produce the essential commodities a lunar civilization will require at extreme scale: water, power, and oxygen. Our ultimate goal is to build and operate a self-sustaining city on Mars.
Chemical / Materials Engineer – Space Solar
The Starlight team is focused on dramatically improving space solar power to support Starpath's core mission and the greater space economy. Starlight manufactures the lowest cost and highest performance space solar ever, which will power the majority of new satellites built on Earth and all of Starpath's equipment on the Moon and Mars.
As a Chemical / Materials Engineer on the Starlight team, you will work alongside our senior chemists on the materials and chemistries behind our solar cells and encapsulation systems. You'll support development, characterization, and scale-up work across cell chemistry, polymer encapsulation, and barrier systems — running experiments, building process workflows, and translating bench-scale chemistry into stable, reproducible manufacturing.
Responsibilities:
Support development and optimization of chemistries and processes across cell materials, polymer encapsulation, and barrier systems
Run experiments, characterize materials, and analyze data to inform chemistry and process decisions
Build and maintain lab workflows, sample tracking, and characterization pipelines that support fast iteration
Perform materials and device characterization using techniques such as XRD, XPS, FTIR, DSC, TGA, SEM, photoluminescence, IV, and stability/degradation testing
Partner with senior chemists on root-cause investigations connecting chemistry to device and encapsulation performance
Support scale-up of bench-level chemistry into stable, reproducible processes on the manufacturing line
Contribute to environmental stability strategies — moisture, oxygen, thermal, UV, and radiation tolerance
Maintain lab safety, chemical inventory, and contamination control practices
Push back on unnecessary complexity — simplify chemistries, reduce process steps, and cut overhead wherever it doesn't add value
Required Qualifications:
Bachelor's or Master's degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, applied physics, or a related discipline
1+ years of hands-on experience with thin-film photovoltaic, optoelectronic, polymer, or related materials (internship and academic research applicable)
Working knowledge of materials characterization techniques and the ability to interpret chemical, thermal, and electrical data
Demonstrated ability to run experiments, collect and analyze data, and draw conclusions from bench work
Preferred Qualifications:
Master's degree in a relevant discipline
Direct experience with thin-film PV, OLED, OPV, or related solution-processed optoelectronic materials
Hands-on experience with polymer chemistry — encapsulants, adhesives, barrier films, or bonded joints
Experience with solution-processed deposition methods (spin coating, blade coating, slot-die coating) or polymer curing and lamination
Proficiency with common characterization techniques — XRD, XPS, FTIR, DSC, TGA, SEM, AFM, photoluminescence, IV, EQE
Experience translating bench chemistry to larger-area or pilot-scale processes
Familiarity with glovebox operations, cleanroom protocols, and chemical safety
Experience using Python, MATLAB, or comparable tools for data analysis
Exposure to aerospace, space, or other high-reliability hardware environments
EAR Requirements:
To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, you must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
Equal Opportunity:
Starpath is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
Benefits:
At Starpath Robotics, base pay is just one part of your total rewards package. We also offer:
Generous benefits including health, dental, vision, and retirement plans.
Paid time off, holidays, and flexible policies to support balance.
Professional growth opportunities through training and development.
The chance to own high-impact work that directly shapes the future of robotics & space!
A collaborative, mission-driven culture where craftsmanship and innovation are celebrated.