Head of PV Device Engineering

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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.