Lead Equipment Engineer

Position Overview

Discovered at the University of Houston in 1987, high temperature superconducting (HTS) tape delivers dramatically higher current densities than copper and aluminum with near-zero resistance. AMPeers is a technology startup out of Houston, TX, developing next-generation REBCO high-temperature superconductor tapes and symmetric tape round (STAR®) superconducting wires. Spun out of the University of Houston, our technology enables the widespread adoption of superconductors in fusion magnets, power transmission, and next-generation energy systems. To bring this technology from pilot scale to commercial production, AMPeers is building specialized manufacturing equipment and processes in-house. The Equipment Engineer will play a central role in designing, commissioning, and scaling the tools that enable reliable, high-throughput superconducting tape and wire production.

Location: Houston, TX, on-site

Salary: Based on experience

Key Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end equipment design, build, commissioning, and reliability for thin film vacuum deposition tools.
• Develop motion, thermal, vacuum, gas delivery, and power subsystems for MOCVD, sputtering, e-beam evaporation, or ion-beam deposition platforms.
• Generate build-ready CAD models and fabrication drawings. (Software: SolidWorks or other CAD)
• Troubleshoot tools to improve throughput, uptime, and process repeatability.
• Collaborate with manufacturing, safety, and operations to define hardware specs, BOMs, and reliability targets.
• Implement automation and software that enables operator-friendly, repeatable manufacturing.

Required Qualifications

• Fearless curiosity
• Comfort with ambiguous hardware problems
• Direct experience building, owning, or troubleshooting vacuum thin-film deposition tools.
• Control systems experience across motion, vacuum, thermal, flow, and power.
• BS in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or hands-on industry experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• 2+ years of tool ownership from concept-to-operation OR 4+ years relevant industrial equipment experience.
• Experience with industrial automation stacks (Python, LabVIEW, embedded, PLC, etc.)
• Cryogenic, superconducting, or thin-film materials exposure

Benefits & Perks

• 401(k) plan with employer match
• 100% dental and vision coverage
• Medical coverage