Manager Lab Operations Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

At Swift Solar, our mission is to unlock the full potential of solar energy. We believe that solar energy has vast untapped potential to power our lives, fuel economies, and strengthen supply chains, while protecting planetary health in the face of global climate change. The reality is that today's solar technology is good, but not good enough.

Swift Solar is making solar better with its breakthrough tandem technology that harnesses the power of perovskite materials to create solar solutions that are not only more efficient than traditional technology but also more versatile, enabling applications ranging from space solar to utility-scale power generation.

Swift Solar is a mission-focused startup supported by the US government and backed by world-class investors. It's a long journey to bring a new clean energy technology to market, and we're in it for the long haul, together. Join our extraordinary team building the cutting-edge solar technology that will shape the future of the global solar industry.

As Lab Operations Lead at Swift, your mission is to run Swift's R&D facility so that the people, tools, and workflows on the floor consistently turn high-level technical priorities into productive, safe, informed, and continuous day-to-day execution.

A typical day for you starts on the floor. You'll walk the lab multiple times, pull the latest uptime and throughput data, sync with the technician staffing lead on outages and sequencing, and triage tool issues with the equipment team. When a tool goes sideways — and sometimes it will — you'll reshuffle the plan so the highest-priority runs still happen. You're the connective tissue between engineers and technicians: translating priorities into a shared execution plan, surfacing bottlenecks before they become surprises, and making sure critical work carries forward seamlessly across all shifts. The lab is your domain — you set the tone for how it runs.

Beyond the day-to-day, you own the preventive maintenance program, calibration procedures, lab safety, SOPs, training records, and inventory. Over your first few months, you'll also stand up and optimize 24/5 operations, build operational dashboards with our data team, and ensure that top-down planning goals reflect the real capacity of our tools and people — not just what looks good on paper. This is an early-stage role at a company that moves fast, and what you build here will define how Swift operates for years to come.

• Have 4+ years of operations experience in an R&D, pilot line, or production lab — semiconductor, thin film, hardware, or similar — and genuinely prefer walking the floor to sitting at a desk
• Can hold credible technical conversations with tool owners and process engineers about vacuum systems, thin-film deposition tools, and metrology instruments — you don't need to be the expert, but you can engage at their level
• Have managed or closely coordinated a technician team, including balancing workload across people and shifts
• Are highly organized and detail-oriented — passdowns, PM schedules, inventory, and SOPs stay current because you make sure they do
• Are comfortable with data — at minimum a power user of Google Sheets, able to define what a useful operational dashboard looks like, and open to experimenting with AI tools
• Have a strong safety mindset and are willing to be an active, visible presence on the EHS team
• Are deeply motivated to make an impact on climate change and energized by Swift's mission
  

• Experience in a multi-shift environment (24/5 or 24/7), including designing or improving shift passdown processes, and ownership of a preventive maintenance program across multiple tool types
• Pareto-driven problem solving and process flow optimization — you've identified yield or throughput bottlenecks quantitatively and driven them to resolution
• Background in perovskite, thin-film solar, PV, or another deposition-heavy hardware domain
• Experience building lab operations from scratch in a scaling environment — e.g., transitioning from exploratory R&D to pilot or 24/5
• Lean Six Sigma (especially Lean), 5S, inventory management, or prior startup hardware experience

• Compensation: Competitive package including salary, equity, and benefits
• Expected Pay Range: $135,000 - $165,000 per year
• The actual offer, reflecting total compensation and benefits, will be determined by factors such as relevant experience, skills, and other qualifications
• Ideal start date: June-July 2026
• Job type: Full-time
• Location: San Carlos, CA (Swift Solar HQ)

• Work with purpose: Join our mission to unlock the full potential of solar energy and make a global impact.
• Lead with innovation: Be part of an extraordinary team building cutting-edge solar technology - growth mindset; culture
• Thrive with benefits: Have 100% of your monthly premiums for HMO / PPO group healthcare plan options and 75% of your dental and vision insurance premiums covered by us. Employees also benefit from 401(k) matching, clean commuter benefits, and meaningful equity.
• Invest in your career: 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.

We recognize that candidates from underrepresented backgrounds often hesitate to apply if they don't meet all the criteria. If you're excited about this role and believe you can contribute to our team, we encourage you to apply—even if you don't meet every qualification listed. We're eager to meet people from all backgrounds, and your unique skills and experiences could be exactly what we need.

If you believe in our mission, but this isn't the right job for you, 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!

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