Director, Battery Engineering

Sila•Alameda, CA

6d•$207,000 - $262,000•Onsite

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? You are a seasoned engineering leader who brings a proven track record of bridging technical customer engagement with cell design, high-volume manufacturing, and Contract Manufacturing (CM) execution. You bring the practical experience needed to see around corners, anticipate integration bottlenecks, and establish clear operational momentum. While you respect the deep domain expertise of your team, your focus is on creating the organizational structure, clarity, and leadership backing required for engineers to perform at their best. In this role, you will lead Sila’s Battery Engineering group across both Customer Application Engineering and Cell Scaling, guiding team operations, fostering career development, and ensuring technical execution aligns with Sila’s commercial goals.

Requirements

People Leadership: 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.
Lithium-Ion Battery Industry Depth: 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.
Operational & Scaling Mastery: Proven success establishing team workflows, project prioritization frameworks, and cross-functional execution processes across cell development, scaling, or contract manufacturing environments.
Communication & Strategic Advocacy: 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.
Education: B.S. or advanced degree (M.S./Ph.D. preferred) in Engineering, Physical Sciences, or a related field.

Responsibilities

Drive Customer Adoption & Cell Qualification: 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.
Anticipate Scaling & Integration Challenges: 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.
Drive Commercial Results: 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.
Develop People & Build a Scaling Org: 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.
Streamline Operations & Cross-Functional Alignment: 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.