About the role

Job Description for :- Supply Quality Sr. Engineer / Asst. Manager – Solar Cells & Modules

Department :- Quality Assurance / Supplier Quality

Reporting To :- Head – Quality

Location :- Corporate Office (Mumbai) with frequent Supplier Visits

Education :- Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical / Electronic Engineering

Preferred: Certification for Lead Auditor, Six Sigma Green Belt/Black Belt) OR M. Tech. (Electrical/Electronics)

Experience :- 6–10 years in Solar Cell and/or PV Module Inspection, Hands-on experience with cell and module manufacturing processes, supplier audits, and reliability testing, Experience with international supplier qualification and factory surveillance is highly desirable.

Purpose of Job Role :-

To ensure that procured solar cells and PV modules consistently meet company quality, reliability, safety, performance, and contractual requirements through supplier qualification, process audits, production surveillance, product inspections, testing, and continuous supplier quality improvement.

The role is responsible for minimizing field failures, improving supplier capability, and ensuring reliable delivery through factory inspection, despatch clearance for utility scale grid connected solar PV project.

Key Responsibilities

1. Supplier Qualification & Development

Evaluate new solar cell and PV module manufacturers.
Conduct supplier capability assessments.
Perform technical due diligence.
Assess manufacturing capacity and scalability.
Review supplier Quality Management System.
Qualify suppliers based on technical requirements.

2. Factory Audits

Plan and execute Solar Cell Manufacturing line & Module Manufacturing line:

Audit manufacturing areas including:

Solar Cell Manufacturing including all manufacturing areas such as; Wafer Incoming, Texturing, Diffusion, PSG Removal, Edge Isolation, PECVD, Metallization, Firing, Cell Sorting, Packaging

Solar Module Manufacturing including all manufacturing areas in line such as; Material Incoming, Stringing, Layup, EL Inspection, Lamination, Trimming, Framing, Junction Box, Hi-Pot Test, Flash Testing, Final EL, Packaging

Audit should cover aspects related to QMS Audit, Process Audit, Product Audit, Traceability Audit

3. Incoming Material Quality

Review, Approve BOM and monitor through TPI for all incoming raw material such as; Silicon wafers, Solar cells, Glass, EVA/POE, Backsheet, Encapsulants, Junction Box, Ribbon, Busbar, Frame, Sealant, Labels, Packing Materials

4. Production Surveillance

Identify capable Third-party inspection agency, deploy and conduct daily monitoring of inspection through TPIA, raise NC, verify closure and give final despatch clearance.

Stage inspections during manufacturing for Solar Cell such as; AOI Verification, Cell Efficiency, Cell Classification, IV Data, Colour Uniformity, Thickness, Crack Detection, Micro-crack Analysis, Sorting Accuracy

Stage inspections during manufacturing for Solar Module such as; String Inspection, EL Inspection, Layup Verification, Lamination Parameters, Bubble Inspection, Cell Shift, Glass Alignment, Frame Gap, Sealant Application, Junction Box Bonding, Flash Test Verification, Final EL Acceptance

5. Product Inspection

Perform; Pre-Production Inspection, During Production Inspection, Final Random Inspection, Pre-Shipment Inspection (PSI)

Review: Packing, Labelling, Serialization, Traceability, Warranty Labels, Pallet Quality, Container Loading

6. Laboratory Testing

Coordinate and witness:

Cell Tests :- Efficiency, IV Curve, Visual Inspection, EL, PL, Thickness, Sheet Resistance, Finger Width, Busbar Quality

Module Tests :-

Routine tests :- Visual Inspection, EL, Flash Test, Hi-Pot, Insulation Resistance

Reliability tests :- PID, LeTID, UV, TC200, DH1000, DH2000, MQT, HF10, Mechanical Load, Hail Test, Bypass Diode Test, Wet Leakage, Fire Test, Salt Mist, Ammonia, Dust & Sand, Potential Induced Degradation

7. Quality Documentation

Benchmark, Optimise, Review and approve all Quality documents such as : MQAP, ITP, SOP, Control Plans, PFMEA, Process Flow, Inspection Reports, Material Certificates, Calibration Certificates, Factory Test Reports, Shipping Documents, Traceability Records

8. Defect Investigation

Lead investigation for Solar Module manufacturing related defects such as; Low Power/Module generation degradation, EL Defects, Micro Cracks, Cell Breakage, Finger Interruptions, Black Cell, Cell Mismatch, Delamination, EVA Browning, Snail Trails, Hot Spots, Junction Box Failure, Glass Breakage, Backsheet Failure, PID Failure, Moisture Ingress, Corrosion, Potential Warranty Claims

Conduct , and conclude RCA through use quality tools such as; 8D, 5 Why, Fishbone Diagram, Pareto Analysis, FMEA, CAPA

9. Supplier Performance Monitoring

Monitor supplier performance monitoring through appropriate KPI such as; defect rate in PPM, On-time delivery, MDCC TAT(Turn around time), Inspection Acceptance Rate, Field Failure Rate, Warranty Claims, CAPA Closure, Audit Score, Repeat Defects, Reliability Performance

Prepare monthly supplier scorecards basis KPIs.

10. Cross Functional Coordination

Pro-active close co-ordination to ensure timely output of Quality KPIs. Cross function co-ordination required with all stackholders such as; Suppliers, Consultants, Testing lab, Procurement, Engineering, Project Execution, Construction, Logistics/Supply Chain, Contracts, Testing Laboratory, Third Party Inspection Agencies, Supplier Quality Teams

11. Technical Knowledge Required

Strong understanding of:

Mono PERC, TOPCon, HJT, BC Cell Technology, Half-cut Cells, Multi Busbar, SMBB, 0BB Technology, Bifacial Modules, Glass-Glass Modules, Glass-Back sheet Modules, N-Type Technology, Module Manufacturing Process, Cell Manufacturing Process

12. Standards Knowledge

Working knowledge of various standards applicable for Cell and Module Manufacturing such as; IEC 61215, IEC 61730, IEC TS 62941, IEC 60904 Series, IEC 62804 (PID), IEC 62716 (Ammonia), IEC 61701 (Salt Mist), IEC 60068, IEC 63209, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 17025

Skills

Skills required :- Supplier Auditing, Process Auditing, Root Cause Analysis, Statistical Process Control, SQC, MSA, PFMEA, APQP, Control Plan, CAPA, Technical Report Writing, Advanced Excel, Power BI (Preferred), SAP / ERP, Minitab (Preferred)

Asst. Manager - Cell Quality and PV Module

About the role