Senior Cell Engineer

Blue Current•Hayward, CA

6d•$111,600 - $160,000•Onsite

About The Position

Blue Current is seeking a Senior Cell Engineer to lead technical work moving its silicon solid-state cell technology from early-stage research and development through scaled production. The role spans the full cell development lifecycle, from working with scientists on cell designs and materials to partnering with manufacturing and process engineers to make those designs scalable and manufacturable. The engineer independently handles complex technical problems, owns work end-to-end, and is responsible for project design and execution within their technical domain. The position focuses on hypothesis-driven experimentation, cell performance improvement, root-cause and failure analysis, characterization, and introducing new cell designs through pilot and production-representative builds. The engineer defines cell design requirements that balance electrochemical performance, mechanical robustness, and process capability; documents findings and design revisions; mentors junior staff; and represents cell engineering in cross-functional planning. The role also contributes to laboratory safety practices. The position is based in an active laboratory and manufacturing environment at Blue Current’s headquarters and pilot line facility in Hayward, California. Travel is estimated at less than 10%, primarily domestic, with possible overseas travel. Standard weekday business hours apply, with occasional evening or weekend availability potentially needed during build campaigns or long-running tests.

Requirements

PhD in a relevant field, or an MS with at least 3 years of relevant experience, or a BS with at least 5 years of relevant experience. Relevant fields include Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, or a related field focused on batteries or electrochemical devices.
Demonstrated experience taking a cell design from laboratory scale through at least one meaningful scale-up stage, such as a format change, process transfer, or production pilot.
Hands-on experience with at least three cell-build unit operations, including coating, calendering, slitting, stacking or winding, electrolyte or separator integration, sealing, and formation; understanding of how variation in these operations affects performance and yield.
Experience designing and interpreting cell characterization studies, including rate testing, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and cycle-life testing.
Experience conducting failure analysis and connecting observed failure modes to upstream process or design root causes.
Technical foundation in electrochemical cell design, including electrode architecture, stack design, electrolyte-electrode compatibility, and performance-manufacturability trade-offs.
Statistical fluency sufficient to design experiments supporting defensible conclusions and analyze cell test results, including A/B comparisons, run charts, and DOE analysis.
Clear technical writing skills sufficient to author and maintain cell specifications, SOPs, and build documentation relied on by other functions.
Ability to communicate across research, process engineering, quality, and operations, and make decisions with incomplete information while explicitly stating assumptions.
Commitment to maintaining a safe and secure work environment, following workplace safety protocols and data privacy and confidentiality requirements, and appropriately escalating risks.
Ability to collaborate effectively with people of diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and working styles, while maintaining professionalism, integrity, and discretion.
Ability to independently prioritize, execute, and follow through with minimal supervision; set measurable goals, meet deadlines, and proactively resolve challenges.
Commitment to quality and continuous improvement, with sound judgment in evaluating and selecting effective, scalable solutions.
Ability to quickly acquire skills, tools, or domain knowledge and apply creative thinking to solve problems.
Ability to deliver results in resource-constrained or ambiguous environments by making effective use of available tools, processes, and partnerships.
Commitment to understanding and exceeding internal or external customer needs and building trust-based relationships.
Able to pass a respirator fit test and periodically wear a respirator.
Authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship now or in the future.

Nice To Haves

Experience with dry-room or glovebox build environments and the constraints they place on cell design and material handling.
Experience defining cell architecture, including format, stack design, current collector configuration, and sealing approach, in a scale-up environment.
Experience contributing to equipment and capability roadmap planning, including identifying gaps between current infrastructure and scale-up requirements.
Background in structured problem-solving methods such as design failure mode and effects analysis, or experience in root-cause analysis involving cell teardowns and deep material analytics.

Responsibilities

Design and execute hypothesis-driven experiments to understand and improve cell performance using analytical and statistical techniques.
Lead root-cause analysis of cell underperformance and unexpected failures, develop mechanistic explanations, and drive design or process changes to eliminate causes.
Investigate material and interface failure modes and quantify their contribution to performance and yield losses.
Direct cell characterization and post-mortem analysis, selecting techniques that distinguish between competing failure hypotheses.
Lead introduction of new cell designs from small-format research samples through pilot and production-representative builds, identifying scale-sensitive failure modes and working with manufacturing and R&D to resolve issues.
Define cell design requirements that balance electrochemical performance, mechanical robustness, and process capability; develop cell designs and processes as the cell scales beyond the lab.
Collaborate with research scientists on new cell chemistries, electrolyte systems, and electrode architectures, and with process engineers to ensure scalability.
Document experimental findings, cell specifications, and design-of-record revisions so conclusions and supporting evidence remain traceable across research, engineering, and manufacturing.
Mentor junior engineers and technicians in experimental design, failure analysis, and characterization practices.
Represent cell engineering in cross-functional technical planning and project execution.
Model and improve laboratory safety practices, demonstrate sound experimental technique, and help implement best-practice updates.
Perform other duties as assigned, consistent with the scope and level of the position.