Mechanical Design Engineer

About the company

At Swift Solar, we’re building the future of solar. We believe that solar energy has vast untapped potential to reduce inequity and protect planetary health in the face of global climate change. We believe that today’s solar technology is good but not good enough. And we believe that what we build today should serve humanity forever. 

Swift’s perovskite tandem technology breaks through the performance limits of existing solar technologies. By making solar better—more efficient, more affordable, and more widely accessible—we are helping to create a world where all energy is clean energy. 

Swift Solar is a mission-focused startup funded by committed investors. We know it’s a long journey to take a new clean energy technology to market, and we’re in it for the long haul together. If you join us, you’ll play a meaningful role in taking Swift’s impact to the next level.

A day in the life

As a Mechanical Design Engineer at Swift, you’ll help create equipment to make affordable, high-efficiency perovskite photovoltaics. Your main responsibility will be working with the equipment engineering team to design, procure, and install parts and assemblies for thin-film deposition and processing equipment. Your designs will help Swift improve process performance and prepare for manufacturing scale-up. 

On a typical day, you might design components for vacuum chambers and other process equipment, make drawings to send to suppliers to source high-quality parts quickly and cost-effectively, perform a thermal and mechanical analysis of a new assembly, work with technicians to install and troubleshoot an assembly, and contribute to developing Swift’s engineering practices and documentation standards. 

As an early hire, you’ll help craft Swift’s culture. In this role you’ll be interacting with every part of the company, which will naturally lead to many opportunities to grow your own skills and responsibilities. We encourage you to take full advantage of these opportunities.

You might be a good fit if you... 

• Have a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering or related discipline.
• Have used 3D CAD software to design a variety of parts made by machining, 3D printing, sheet metal processes, and/or welding (SolidWorks preferred).
• Enjoy working with suppliers to get quality parts, testing systems that you and the team have designed, and troubleshooting complex systems.
• Have a desire to learn standards and best practices to help improve Swift’s engineering processes.

A strong candidate might bring one or more of the following...

• 3+ years of industrial engineering experience working with vacuum equipment or other materials processing equipment in photovoltaics, semiconductors, batteries, or a similar industry.
• Knowledge of proper dimensioning and tolerance analysis including ASME Y14.5M.
• Past projects using computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis for flow, thermal, and structural simulations (using ANSYS or similar).
• Experience working with a formal document control system and release process for parts and drawings.
• 2D drafting of electrical schematics for industrial controls in AutoCAD or similar.

The logistics

• Compensation: Competitive package including salary, equity, and benefits
• Expected Pay Range: $90,000 - $160,000 per year
• Ideal start date: July-September 2024
• Job type: Full-time
• Location: San Carlos, CA (Swift Solar HQ)

What you’ll love about Swift

• Culture: We live by our values. You’ll feel right at home if you want to serve the future, get better every day, respect your colleagues, and have fun.
• Health benefits: We cover 100% of monthly premiums for HMO and PPO group healthcare plan options and 75% of dental and vision insurance costs for employees.
• Your future, supported: We offer 401(k) plans and match 100% of your retirement contributions up to 4% of your earnings.
• Clean commuter benefits: We’re all about clean energy. We make it easy and cheap to ride your bike or take public transit to work.
• Growth mindset: You’ll grow your skills, your network, and your perspective at Swift. We’ll support you in attending conferences and taking online courses, as long as you share your new insights with the team.

Swift is an equal opportunity employer. We value an inclusive work environment and welcome team members of all backgrounds and perspectives.

Even if this isn’t the right job for you, we’re always looking for good people. Please check out other career opportunities on our website and email us at careers@swiftsolar.com with any questions. And if you have a friend who would be a perfect fit, send them this link. Thanks!