R&D Mechanical/Materials Engineer

Number of employees

360

Alameda, CA, United States

Posted on: 2022-04-14

Category: energy

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Expired

Employment type:

Full time

Experience required:

Intermediate

Salary

Salary not provided

About the company:

We are Sila—a next generation battery materials company dedicated to accelerating energy transformation for a more sustainable future. 

Our next-gen anode material is the first significant chemistry improvement to lithium-ion batteries to reach the market in 30 years. Our silicon anode material is a simple drop-in replacement to graphite and significantly boosts the energy density of lithium-ion batteries without compromising performance. 

Today, Sila science powers innovative consumer electronics. Tomorrow, it will fuel our EV future and the electrification of everything. 

We work directly with leading consumer electronics and automotive OEMs to help accelerate product roadmaps, and partners with battery manufacturers commercial cell production. Our partners include BMW, Daimler, and ATL.

Sila Nano works directly with leading consumer electronics and automotive OEMs to help accelerate product roadmaps, and partners with battery manufacturers commercial cell production. 

Sila Nano’s first products significantly increase the energy density of state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries. Our materials are manufacturable economically at scale and are drop-in replacements to existing battery manufacturing processes.

WHO YOU ARE

You’re a hands-on, multidisciplinary engineer who knows how to build, debug, and analyze complex experimental hardware to help make, and characterize, novel materials. You thrive collaborating with an interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers, learning and exploring technical concepts outside of your primary expertise. You’re able to move seamlessly from zoomed-in discussions about component-level details to zoomed-out discussions about how reactor design and instrumentation affects chemical processes. You can navigate a rapidly-changing research organization and bring structure to open-ended scientific questions. In this role, you’ll collaborate to invent and prototype reactor hardware and techniques that empower a diverse team to develop next-generation Li-ion battery materials.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES 

  • Work with a cross-functional team of engineers and scientists to develop new battery materials. Own the equipment piece of the puzzle: propose, build, iterate, and debug chemical reactors for improved material synthesis.
  • Close loops. The nature of the reactors and analytical tools you work with in this role is that they’re never truly complete or handed off. Test your machines; work as both a designer and an end-user. Integrate sensors and analytical devices into reactors to provide insight into chemical processes.
  • Take on project management responsibilities and work across teams to help set goals, priorities, and timelines.
  • Organize, document, communicate. Distill design decisions and experimental outcomes into actionable communication tailored to your audience.
  • Identify safety hazards and work proactively to implement safety improvements.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS

  • M.S. (or equivalent experience) in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, or a related discipline and at least 3 years of work experience in an engineering role. 
  • Second-nature familiarity with automated equipment in lab settings. Ability to spec, design, build, test, and commission new machines. Ability to troubleshoot and upgrade existing machines (mechanical and electrical) and working knowledge of lab & production instrumentation.
  • Experience analyzing real thermal/mechanical/chemical systems and applying your analysis to hardware and process improvements. 
  • Proficiency in mechanical assembly design and 3D CAD (ideally SolidWorks). Experience designing parts and getting them fabricated by external shops.
  • Experience working in a laboratory or R&D environment. Experience with vacuum systems, chemical vapor deposition processes, semiconductor, or photovoltaic processes is ideal.
  • Programming experience (C, C#, Python, .NET, MATLAB, or IEC 61131 PLC automation preferred).
  • Strong communication skills. Ability to listen and convey technical concepts to a diverse audience.
  • Experience in collaborative problem solving: sharing knowledge, ideas, resources, and long-term plans in order to solve complex technical problems.

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
  • Move items up to 50 lbs with the assistance of lift equipment and carts
  • Move long distances (such as from building to building)
  • Can travel both domestically and internationally up to 10% of the time

 

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