Director, Battery Engineering
About The Position
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?
Requirements
- 5+ years of direct people management experience leading engineering, science, or technical teams, with a track record of talent development, performance management, and building high-trust team cultures.
- 10+ years (12+ preferred) of battery industry experience spanning lithium-ion cell development, OEM customer qualification cycles (e.g., A/B/C sample testing), design transfer, and commercial-scale cell manufacturing or CM execution.
- Proven success establishing team workflows, project prioritization frameworks, and cross-functional execution processes across cell development, scaling, or contract manufacturing environments.
- Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with a track record of advocating for team needs, communicating complex technical trade-offs, and building alignment across cross-functional commercial and technical partners.
- B.S. or advanced degree (M.S./Ph.D. preferred) in Engineering, Physical Sciences, or a related field.
Responsibilities
- Provide leadership and oversight for team deliverables across customer application engineering, cell prototyping design transfer, and OEM qualification—ensuring Sila’s silicon anode materials and cell designs are successfully integrated into partner platforms.
- Apply your background in physical product scaling to help the team spot technical risks early, resolve complex cell adoption/manufacturing bottlenecks, and navigate contract manufacturing handoffs.
- Partner closely with Commercial, Business Development, and Product leadership to ensure battery engineering milestones directly support customer pipeline progression, joint development agreements, and revenue targets.
- Lead, mentor, and advocate for an engineering team spanning customer applications and cell engineering. Design clear career pathways, conduct constructive performance reviews, and structure the team for long-term scale.
- Establish efficient team workflows and prioritization frameworks that maintain focus on high-impact goals while protecting team capacity. Serve as the functional bridge for Battery Engineering across R&D, Operations, Product, and Commercial leadership.
Benefits
- Base pay is only one part of Sila’s competitive Total Rewards package that can include benefits, perks, equity, and bonuses.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
