Staff Process Engineer, Concept Development

About Us

We are Sila, a next-generation battery materials company. Our mission is to power the world’s transition to clean energy. To create this future, our team is building a better lithium-ion battery from the inside out today. We engineer and manufacture ground-breaking battery materials that significantly increase the energy density of batteries, while reducing their size and weight. The result? Smaller more powerful batteries that can unlock innovation in consumer devices and accelerate the mass adoption of electric cars to eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels. We're tackling one of the biggest challenges of our time every day, and together we're redefining what's possible. Are you ready to be a part of a team committed to changing the world?

Who You Are

You are creative, proactive, meticulous, and hands-on. You understand the synthesis and scale up of novel, advanced materials. You are relentless at designing and developing scalable chemical and physical processes to manufacture novel materials to enable the global transition to renewable energy for Li-ion batteries. You possess a diverse skill set and are equally effective working with internal and external material development partners, proactively developing IP opportunities, and rigorously developing structure/process/property relationships to support new product development. You will utilize your previous experience in materials synthesis and scaleup to collaborate with a team with varied strengths of Research, Equipment Development, and Product representatives and help drive the development of novel, materials-based battery products

Responsibilities and Duties

- Lead efficient design of experiments (DOEs) and statistical analysis to enable best-in-class learning cycles for robust product development

- Document and communicate findings to an array of partners, including customers, suppliers, contract manufacturers, and government funding agencies

- Lead end-to-end process scale-up from pilot line to high-volume manufacturing (HVM), translating lab-validated processes into robust high-yield production through equipment selection, process design, statistical validation, and manufacturability optimization.

- Balance product requirements and manufacturability, understanding product needs and commercial benchmarks, while de-risking process scale-up to meet project timing and cost objectives

- Develop characterization and test methods to improve scientific understanding and manufacturability

- Proactively identify safety hazards and work collaboratively to implement improvements

Knowledge and Skill Requirements

- Masters in Material Science, Chemical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry with 6+ years of relevant industry experience (fewer with advanced degree), or equivalent

- Expertise in process development, statistical analysis, and advanced data analysis tools (e.g., Python, database mining, JMP)

- Experience leading process scale-up and qualification activities across internal or external manufacturing environments.

- Deep understanding of state-of-the-art material characterization techniques (e.g., SEM, TEM, XRD, XPS, Raman, Gas Chromatography)

- Ability to clearly communicate technical findings to diverse audiences (verbal, written, presentation)

- Experience with materials-based new product development and/or battery materials and electrochemical testing is a plus

- Six Sigma experience with either Green or Black Belt certification is a plus

Physical Demands and Working Conditions

- Pass a respirator fit test and be able to wear respiratory protection on a periodic basis

- Wear personal protective equipment including, but not limited to, a lab coat, gloves, safety glasses, and steel toe safety shoes

- Use a glove box to prepare samples

- Operate analytical equipment at a bench

- Move items up to 25 lbs with the assistance of lift equipment and carts

- Move long distances (such as from building to building) and be stationary for extended periods of time

- Operate a computer and other office equipment, such as a laptop, copier/printer, etc in a fixed location

- Can travel domestically and internationally up to 20% to support commissioning and vendor/supplier engagements.

The starting base pay for this role is between $151,000 and $191,000 at the time of posting. The actual base pay depends on many factors, such as education, experience, and skills. Base pay is only one part of Sila’s competitive Total Rewards package that can include benefits, perks, equity, and bonuses. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future.

Working at Sila

We believe that building a diverse team at Sila helps us amplify our individual talents. We are an equal opportunity employer and committed to creating an inclusive environment where good ideas are free to come from anyone. We are proud to celebrate diversity and all qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, national origin, or any other status protected by law.