Process Engineer - Battery Development

General Motors•Warren, MI

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

General Motors is seeking a Process Engineer to support electrode manufacturing operations at the Wallace Battery Development Center. This role sits at the heart of GM's battery development efforts, directly contributing to the advancement of next-generation electric vehicle and energy storage technologies. Based in a pilot-scale battery development environment, you will play a key role in transforming emerging battery chemistries into scalable manufacturing processes. Your primary focus will be developing, optimizing, and executing electrode slurry mixing processes used in the production of advanced battery cells. Working closely with product engineers, technicians, process engineers, quality teams, and manufacturing partners, you will help establish robust processes that enable future battery technologies to move from development into production. The ideal candidate is passionate about advancing battery technology, enjoys solving complex technical challenges, and thrives in a highly collaborative environment where innovation and continuous learning are encouraged.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or higher in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, or a closely related technical field.
Three or more years of hands-on process engineering experience in a laboratory, pilot plant, or manufacturing environment.
Direct experience with slurry mixing, chemical formulation, industrial mixing, wet chemistry processes, or similar materials-processing operations.
Strong understanding of chemical processing fundamentals, material interactions, and manufacturing process controls.
Experience developing, documenting, and executing manufacturing processes, technical procedures, recipes, or standard operating procedures.
Demonstrated problem-solving and root cause analysis experience utilizing structured methodologies such as 8D, DMAIC, A3, or equivalent approaches.
Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills with the ability to resolve technical process challenges.
Ability to work effectively within a highly collaborative, cross-functional environment.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting lithium-ion battery development, battery cell manufacturing, or electrode manufacturing processes.
Knowledge of battery materials, including cathode materials, anode materials, binders, solvents, conductive additives, and related chemistries.
Experience with electrode slurry preparation, characterization, formulation development, or manufacturing process optimization.
Familiarity with pilot-scale manufacturing or process development environments.
Knowledge of NMP-based and/or aqueous-based slurry systems.
Experience with Design of Experiments (DOE), Statistical Process Control (SPC), and process optimization techniques.
Experience within battery manufacturing, specialty chemicals, coatings, paint manufacturing, advanced materials, adhesives, or other formulation-based industries.
Demonstrated curiosity, initiative, and passion for developing emerging technologies.
Experience supporting the scale-up of new products or technologies from development to manufacturing environments.

Responsibilities

Develop and optimize electrode slurry mixing processes for advanced battery materials and next-generation battery technologies.
Create, maintain, and execute detailed mixing recipes, including chemical formulations, ingredient sequencing, processing parameters, temperatures, mixing speeds, and durations.
Execute slurry mixing batches while ensuring adherence to defined process controls, quality standards, and safety requirements.
Perform slurry characterization and testing, including viscosity analysis, solids content measurement, particle size distribution evaluation, and coating performance assessments.
Investigate process deviations, equipment issues, and quality concerns using structured problem-solving methodologies and implement effective corrective actions.
Collaborate with product engineering, materials engineering, quality, operations, maintenance, and equipment engineering teams to optimize processes and support manufacturing scale-up activities.
Analyze chemical and material interactions to improve slurry performance, process stability, and manufacturing consistency.
Maintain accurate process records, batch logs, technical documentation, and laboratory records in accordance with GM standards.
Support continuous improvement activities focused on yield, process capability, throughput, consistency, and quality.
Contribute to the development of process specifications, standard operating procedures (SOPs), control plans, and manufacturing best practices.
Support pilot-scale manufacturing activities and gain exposure to adjacent battery production processes as part of ongoing development efforts.