Manager, Application Development

Who You Are

You are an exceptional technical leader who inspires and enables a top-notch team of engineering professionals to develop next generation Li-ion battery materials. You are a principled hands-on leader with high emotional intelligence, excellent interpersonal and mentorship skills, unshakeable intellectual honesty, humility and sound judgment. You possess a diverse skill set and are equally effective working with customers, suppliers, contract manufacturing partners, and government funding agencies. You will leverage your previous experience in application development to collaborate with a diverse team of Process Research and Development, Equipment Development, Application Development, Product, and Strategy representatives to drive the development of novel, materials-based Li-ion battery products.

Responsibilities and Duties  

• Build and foster experimental best practices including efficient design of experiments (DOE) and statistical analysis to enable best in class cycles of learning to support robust and efficient product development
• Document and communicate findings for a broad set of partners including customer, suppliers, contract manufacturing partners, and government funding agencies
• Recruit, interview, hire, and onboard extraordinary new engineers to expand your team’s capacity, capabilities, and diversity; Set clear performance expectations and deliver regular feedback; Coach and mentor direct reports to enable career growth and, when needed, career changes; Maintain processes, systems, and infrastructure that enhance the team’s efficiency. 
• Foster an environment of psychological safety and accountability within the team, encouraging enthusiastic involvement in creative scientific ventures, constructive discourse, and deeply collaborative work for timely attainment of critical program milestones.
• Collaborate with technical leads and adjacent groups to establish product development strategy
• Proactively identify safety hazards and work cooperatively to implement improvements

Knowledge and Skill Requirements 

• Degree in Material Science, Chemical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry or equivalent with minimum of 12+ years (Bachelor’s degree), 8+ years (Master’s degree), or 6+ years (Ph.D.) of industry experience 
• Track record of bringing new processes and products from concept phase through New Product Introduction (NPI)
• Track record of technical leadership and people management including demonstrated experience in mentoring engineers and scientists, facilitating their professional growth and career advancement
• Demonstrated success collaborating in a highly technical interdisciplinary setting with internal stakeholders, suppliers, external development partners, government funding agencies, and customers
• Ability to clearly communicate technical findings to a diverse audience including verbal, written, and presentation
• Experience with battery materials and/or electrochemical testing techniques 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 on a periodic basis
• 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

Work Schedule

Regular Shift: Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 6:00pm

Payscale Disclosure

The starting base pay for this role is between $165,000 and $208,000 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. #LI-PL1 #LI-Onsite