Founding CEO, Space-Grade Solar Manufacturing
Scale high-performance solar for the next generation of space infrastructure.
The opportunity
Demand for space power is growing faster than the existing manufacturing base for high-performance space solar.
The highest-performance cells provide the efficiency, power density, and radiation performance many demanding spacecraft require, but they remain expensive and supply constrained. Existing production relies on relatively low-throughput manufacturing, while new defense, satellite, and space-infrastructure programs are increasing the amount of qualified power hardware the market needs.
A national laboratory research team has spent more than a decade developing a higher-throughput way to make these cells. The process now runs on production-scale pilot equipment and has produced independently certified cells comparable to space-qualified product.
Space-grade solar is the first market because customers value performance, the existing supply base is constrained, and qualification creates durable supplier relationships. If the process can materially improve the throughput and economics of manufacturing, the company can eventually address additional markets that have historically been limited by the cost and availability of these materials.
The company you'll build
You will build a domestic advanced-semiconductor manufacturing company.
The first product is high-performance solar cells for spacecraft. The near-term objective is to move from a laboratory pilot environment into a repeatable commercial production process and establish qualification with anchor customers.
Over time, the company can expand from a focused space-power supplier into a broader high-performance semiconductor manufacturing platform.
What you'll do in the first year
- Execute the technology license and establish the company’s process-transfer relationship with the lab.
- Work alongside the research team to define the manufacturing milestones required for commercial qualification.
- Engage spacecraft primes, array integrators, and other prospective buyers to validate specifications and qualification requirements.
- Establish a credible plan for process transfer, yield improvement, quality systems, and initial production capacity.
- Develop evaluation-lot, qualification, and commercial-engagement pathways with early customers.
- Build the founding manufacturing, quality, supply-chain, and commercial team.
- Develop a financing plan appropriate for a capital-intensive manufacturing company, including equity and applicable non-dilutive capital.
Who you are
- An experienced operator, executive, or founder from semiconductor manufacturing, photovoltaics, aerospace, advanced materials, or another qualification-intensive manufacturing environment.
- You understand how to move a process from pilot equipment into reliable production.
- Comfortable with yield, quality, process control, supply chain, equipment procurement, and manufacturing economics.
- Able to build relationships with aerospace primes, government buyers, integrators, and strategic partners.
- Comfortable raising and deploying capital against clear manufacturing milestones.
- Interested in building a manufacturing company at industrial scale.
We especially want to hear from executives and founders who have taken a manufacturing company from pilot to production. If you know the field deeply and have not led a company before, we want to hear from you too.
How COMPASS builds alongside you
COMPASS will work with you and the research team to pressure-test the manufacturing and market assumptions before significant capital is committed.
You will have access to the pilot process, the research team, industry advisors, and the COMPASS investor network as the company develops.
What happens after you apply
We read every application and reply within a week. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis until the founding team is in place. The process starts with an introductory conversation with the COMPASS team. If there is mutual interest, we go into the technology, the laboratory, and the research team in more detail. A technical review with the research team follows, along with interviews with COMPASS, the laboratory's technology transfer office, and one of our venture advisors. References are checked only with your consent, after both sides agree to proceed. When both sides are ready to commit, you join the founding team and begin building the company.
To arrange a conversation before applying, please reach out to Ish Singh, the COMPASS partner for this venture.
Questions about equity, pay, or relocation are answered in the founder FAQ.
The terms
You would lead the company as its founding CEO, joining before it is incorporated. COMPASS supports the company but does not employ its founders.
- Commitment
- Full-time or part-time during the program, which runs about six months.
- Ownership
- The founding team owns 100% of the company at incorporation. COMPASS takes no equity, and the technology license is negotiated separately with the lab.
- Funding
- A $35,000 non-dilutive award to the company once it incorporates. When the company is ready to raise, COMPASS introduces it to the investor network.
- Pay
- COMPASS does not pay founders directly. Once the company incorporates, its $35,000 award can cover founder salaries.
- Location
- Colorado-based preferred, but not required. Regular time on site with the research team is expected.
Apply for this role
Founding CEO, Space-Grade Solar Manufacturing
Send your resume and a short note on your background and how you would approach the first year. We read the note closely. We welcome applicants of every background, including those whose path here is unconventional.
You will need your resume as a PDF or Word file.
Contact
For questions about this venture, or to arrange a conversation before applying, please reach out.
