About Us
At Active Surfaces, our mission is bold: to unlock clean energy in places traditional solar can’t reach. Our technology, born from nearly a decade of materials science research at MIT, enables ultra-lightweight, flexible solar modules that install on rooftops, walls, and industrial surfaces once considered off-limits. With our platform, the built environment itself becomes a source of clean power.
Since our founding, we’ve rapidly emerged as one of the most exciting startups in climate tech, building a category-defining company that merges breakthrough science with advanced manufacturing. After closing an oversubscribed funding round with leading global investors and partnering with blue-chip firms, we are scaling quickly to support the growing pipeline of commercial projects lined up through 2026.
With additional funding and commercial announcements on the horizon, we’re expanding our team to support this next phase of rapid growth. These key hires will join a world-class group with deep expertise in semiconductor and perovskite research, roll-to-roll manufacturing, and commercial leadership across the energy sector.
This is an opportunity to join an early-stage, fast-paced team building at the edge of what’s technically possible to unlock large-scale solar deployment. We’re not just developing breakthrough products—we’re also shaping a high-performing, values-driven culture that will define how we grow.
We tackle hard problems first to front-load the hardest work to minimize wasted cycles and accelerate learning. We think creatively and stay curious to thrive in ambiguity and push the boundaries of innovation. We thrive on feedback, using it to grow quickly as individuals and as a team. We act today, not tomorrow, moving with urgency and a bias toward action. And we trust the team and are trustworthy, communicating openly and showing up reliably for one another.
If you share our values and want to shape the future of solar alongside us, we want to meet you!
About The Job
The Manufacturing Engineer I will be a key member of the manufacturing team under the supervision of the Director of Manufacturing and Chief Manufacturing Scientist, directly responsible for executing efforts toward our manufacturing goals. These include completing diverse tasks from operating, maintaining, and upgrading roll-to-roll coating machines; executing purchasing and managing inventory levels; and testing and characterizing produced panels. The Manufacturing Engineer I will also take a key role in working with the broader technical team to translate new materials and processes into stable and high yield manufacturing processes.
The ideal candidate has a Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline and 1-3 years of experience in a manufacturing environment, with preference for experience in roll-to-roll processing, semiconductor manufacturing, or other advanced material/high-volume manufacturing environments. We will also consider M.S. or PhD education levels, especially in the case of Perovskite or OPV roll-to-roll processes experience.
Above all else, we value someone who is a quick, enthusiastic learner, creative problem solver and willing to push the bounds of what would normally be considered ‘standard’. As our company quickly grows its manufacturing capabilities, we are looking for a team member who can grow and scale with us!
This role is eligible for visa sponsorship.
This job will be located full-time on site in Woburn, MA.
Responsibilities
- Operate roll-to-roll coating machines to deposit flexible solar panels according to recipes and protocols already defined
- Be comfortable running multiple types of processes (slot-die, flexo, gravure) and be comfortable running newly developed processes
- Assist in translating new processes and recipes into newly defined protocols with the Chief Manufacturing Scientist
- Be capable of self defining and self scheduling machine use to achieve and hit the manufacturing departments goals
- Maintain and oversee roll-to-roll coating equipment and coating and converting machines
- CAD parts and layouts for equipment at the direction of the Director of Manufacturing
- Self-lead and carry out structured design of experiments under the supervision of the Director of Manufacturing
- Test and characterize panels through accessible techniques and protocols such as optical microscopy, JV testing, accelerated lifetime testing and other advanced techniques as they come online
- Work with the broader technical team to assist in defining checks and balances to improve yields within manufacturing processes
Requirements
- 1-3 years of experience in a commercial manufacturing environment
- A bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical, chemical or other engineering discipline
- Laboratory experience, adept at planning and conducting experiments, analyzing data and driving optimization.
- Demonstrated ability to work with multiple materials and openness to exploring new material systems and manufacturing methods
- Passionate about innovation and able to bring creativity to the development of solar cell devices
- Eager to contribute and learn in a collaborative and dynamic and fast paced start-up environment
- Coursework or professional experience in CAD and design for manufacturing
- Experience operating industrial technical equipment
- High attention to detail and motivated attitude
Bonus Points
- Expertise in perovskite solar cells and/or organic photovoltaics (OPVs) or closely related semiconductor or optoelectronics field
- Experience with R2R coating technology (slot-die, blade coating or related)
- Experience with cleanrooms and gloveboxes
- Experience with various coding languages (Python, MATLAB, LabView) along with knowledge or willingness to learn R+D electrical system control and scripting (eg. Keithley 2400/2600 GPIB (IEEE-488), Ethernet or USB control)
- A willingness to ‘tinker’, or experiment to drive value and generate new ideas
- Experience with setting electrical breadboard test systems
- Experience with rapid prototyping manufacturing (3D printing/ CNC Machining)
- Experience with prototyping hardware (Arduino, Raspberry Pi, ESP32)
- Experience with electrical layout (Altium, EZCad)
Perks
- Top-tier health and dental insurance (90% covered)
- 15 days vacation, 5 days personal leave
- Commute reimbursement (75%)
- Wellness program ($50/month)
- Cell Phone Reimbursement ($50/month)
- 401K Matching
