---
title: 'Sr. TPV Process Development Engineer at Antora Energy'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/sr-tpv-process-development-engineer-antora-energy-sunnyvale-811hkk1ee9fs'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-09'
---

# Sr. TPV Process Development Engineer at Antora Energy

- **Company:** Antora Energy
- **Location:** Sunnyvale, CA
- **Posted:** 2026-08-31
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-09
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/antora/jobs/6173885004

## Job description

Antora Energy delivers affordable, reliable energy to industry, data centers, and the grid. Our thermal batteries turn low-cost electricity into always-on heat and power, without supply-constrained critical minerals or multi-year construction timelines.

We are growing our company with people who put team and mission first, value connection through laughter and joy, and work with humility and openness. We are committed to building a diverse, passionate, and creative team dedicated to a future powered by abundant, clean, low-cost energy.

Position Summary

Antora is seeking a Process Development Engineer to help drive continued improvements in thermophotovoltaic (TPV) performance. This engineer will own key optical thin-film processes and play a central role in the optical and device modeling that guides Antora's broader efficiency roadmap.

The role combines hands-on cleanroom process development with optical design, device modeling, metrology, data analysis, and experimental design. You will use these tools to identify and prioritize the highest-impact opportunities for improving TPV performance, develop and validate solutions in the fab, and translate them into measurable gains in device performance.

Roles & Responsibilities

- Develop and own optical thin-film deposition processes and equipment. This includes coating design, process development, qualification, troubleshooting, process control, and user training.
- Own the process-side roadmap for improving TPV efficiency. This includes building and using optical and device-level models in Python, with AI-assisted coding and analysis used extensively to accelerate development.
- Characterize thin films and establish reliable metrology and process controls for properties such as thickness, refractive index, reflectance, uniformity, stress, and adhesion.
- Compare model predictions with measured device performance, then use the results to improve the models and guide further process development.
- Plan and run structured process experiments, using tools such as Python, JMP, and AI to analyze results and accelerate process development.

## Key Qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of experience, Master’s degree with 3+ years of experience, or PhD in physics, optics, electrical engineering, materials science, chemical engineering, or a related technical field.
- Hands-on experience with physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques such as electron-beam evaporation, thermal evaporation, or sputtering.
- Demonstrated success developing and qualifying optical thin-film deposition processes.
- Optical and device-modeling expertise, including designing and optimizing multilayer thin-film stacks and validating model predictions against measured film or device data.
- Practical knowledge of thin-film characterization and metrology techniques such as reflectometry, FTIR, spectrophotometry, ellipsometry, or related methods.
- Strong knowledge of semiconductor device physics, particularly photovoltaics, III-V semiconductors, or other optoelectronic devices.
- Proficiency in Python or similar computational tools for data processing, visualization, modeling, and automation.
- Effective use of AI-assisted tools for coding, modeling, analysis, and documentation, supported by sound technical judgment and critical validation of generated outputs.
- Rigorous technical documentation and knowledge transfer, including clear SOPs, experiment records, and process specifications.
- Clear technical communication and effective cross-functional collaboration, combined with intellectual honesty and a continuous-improvement mindset.

Additional Qualifications Desired

- Familiarity with photomask and device-layout tools such as KLayout or L-Edit and with photolithography processes.
- Experimental and analytical skills, including design of experiments, statistical process analysis, structured root-cause investigation, and process optimization.
- Knowledge of statistical process control, process scaling, and other methods used to transition R&D processes toward production.

Work Location:  Onsite - San Jose, CA

Salary Range:  $129,000 USD - $210,000 USD

Salary Basis:  Annual

Please note that the salary range listed above reflects Antora Energy's estimated pay for this position. The actual salary offered will be within the posted range and determined based on several factors including but not limited to a candidate's experiences, credentials and expertise, as they pertain to the position's requirements.

In addition to a competitive base salary, Antora Energy’s Total Rewards program includes equity compensation in the form of stock options, a premium health benefits package with life and disability insurance, a 401K plan with employer contributions, flexible spending accounts, and an industry leading paid-time-off policy that features flexible and inclusive holiday observance, as well as paid volunteer time off.

#LI-Onsite https://diversityjobs.com/employer/top-diversity-employers?utm_campaign=TopEmployer&utm_medium=badge  When it comes to stopping climate change, we need everyone. We believe that having a diversity of backgrounds and experiences strengthens all of us, and we strive to create an environment where every one of us is empowered to create meaningful change.

## About Antora Energy

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Antora Energy manufactures and deploys modular thermal batteries that convert low-cost, intermittent clean electricity into reliable, always-on heat and power for global industrial facilities and data centers.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B)
- **Headquarters**: San Jose, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2018
- **Founders**: Justin Briggs, Andrew Ponec, David Bierman

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Renewable Energy Power Generation, Thermal Energy Storage, Industrial Decarbonization
- **Target customers**: Large-scale industrial energy users (biofuels, refining, pulp & paper, steel & iron, chemicals, mining, concrete & lime, food & beverage) and data center operators (B2B, Enterprise).
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “We are here to power global industry with clean energy.” The company aims to make cheap, clean energy the standard that powers global industry.

## Products & Services
- **Thermal Battery System**: A modular, factory-built energy storage system that uses solid carbon (one of the safest, most stable materials on earth) to store surplus clean electricity as heat. It delivers always-on heat and power for industrial operations, scales from megawatts to gigawatts, and is designed for low cost, rapid deployment, and massive scale.
- **Project Big Stone**: One of the largest battery storage systems in the world, deployed in under 12 months for POET, the world’s largest biofuels producer. It delivers affordable, reliable energy and serves as a proof-of-concept for the company’s giga-scale deployment model.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available.
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$220.0M** across 10 rounds, including a $150M Series B led by Decarbonization Partners (Feb 2024). Annual revenue estimated at **$7.7M**.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Decarbonization Partners, National Science Foundation, California Energy Commission. Key partner: POET (biofuels).
- **Growth Signals**: 197 employees (+36.6% YoY), 31,700 LinkedIn followers (+42.9% YoY), active job postings up 140% YoY. The company is building gigawatt-hours of thermal batteries annually at its U.S. factory and has a presence in Spain.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proprietary Technology**: Uses solid carbon thermal storage—a simple, safe, and low-cost material—to provide both heat and power, differentiating from chemical battery or molten salt solutions.
- **Modular & Factory-Built**: Modules are manufactured in a U.S. factory, enabling rapid deployment, seamless integration, and operational redundancy at any scale.
- **Speed to Market**: Project Big Stone advanced from an empty lot to energy delivery in under 12 months, demonstrating a fast deployment model that can be replicated globally.
- **Multi-day Storage**: Provides reliable energy for industrial operations where downtime is not an option, solving the intermittency problem of renewables.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale and Replicate**: Replicating the Project Big Stone model at factories and data centers across the U.S. and globally.
- **Giga-scale Manufacturing**: Expanding factory capacity to produce gigawatt-hours of thermal batteries each year, with a focus on American manufacturing.
- **Market Expansion**: Targeting hard-to-abate industrial sectors (steel, cement, chemicals) and data centers, while expanding internationally (e.g., Spain).
- **Cost Leadership**: Driving down costs to make cheap, clean energy the standard for global industry.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-Driven Work**: The company’s north star is to power global industry with clean energy, offering employees a chance to work on one of the most urgent climate challenges.
- **Culture**: Values include “Build with Humility & Openness,” “Team & Mission First,” and “Joy & Laughter Connect Us.” The company emphasizes kindness, collaboration, and learning from setbacks.
- **Work Environment**: Hybrid/remote-friendly with “Home Week” each quarter to bring in-person and remote team members together. Offices in San Jose, CA; Big Stone City, SD; and remote roles in the U.S.
- **Benefits**: Competitive salary, stock options, 401k match, 16 weeks paid parental leave, comprehensive medical/vision/dental, HSA with employer contribution, subsidized backup childcare/senior care/petcare, mental health support, on-site gym, healthy snacks, and volunteer time off.
- **Engineering & Impact**: Teams work on cutting-edge thermal storage, manufacturing, and field engineering. The company is growing fast (36% headcount growth) and offers the chance to shape a new industry.

## Sources
1. [antora.com](https://www.antora.com/)
2. [antora.com/company](https://www.antora.com/company)
3. [antora.com/careers](https://www.antora.com/careers)
4. [linkedin.com/company/antora-energy](https://www.linkedin.com/company/antora-energy)
5. [cbinsights.com/company/antora-energy](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/antora-energy)

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