VP, Foundry Operations

Sila•Alameda, CA

11d•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? Sila's Vice President of Foundry Operations will build and lead Sila’s Battery Foundry Operations from the ground up, driving our physical manufacturing presence from pilot capability to full industrialization and GWh scale production. Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer (COO), this executive will own the backbone of Sila's cell manufacturing strategy, spanning site selection, plant construction, equipment specification, product offerings, vendor ecosystem development, line commissioning, new product introduction, and production scaling. This role operates alongside our Battery R&D team and our RD&E team. While R&D teams focus on early stage material testing and chemistry development, the VP of Foundry Operations is responsible for translating proven technology into commercial, high yield, bankable cell manufacturing operations. The ideal candidate brings a rare combination of a proven ability to scale operations, teams, and operating systems from zero to serial production with equipment and engineering expertise. You are a business first, driven leader with high intellectual curiosity, comfortable moving fluidly between high level executive strategy and hands on operational execution.

Requirements

Minimum 15+ years of leadership in operational, manufacturing, or engineering functions, with at least 5+ years in a Director role or higher leading operational teams.
Proven experience taking complex hardware or battery cell production from early pilot lines to giga scale, serial production.
Hands on experience across battery cell manufacturing process blocks, including dry/clean room environments, electrode processing, cell assembly, electrolyte filling, formation, aging, and validation testing.
Supporting or ownership of large scale capital programs ($100M+ CapEx/OpEx budget oversight) and direct experience managing international equipment supplier ecosystems (U.S., European, and Asian OEMs).
Demonstrated success partnering with commercial leadership to understand market requirements and product/R&D teams to optimize cell designs for high rate production.
Exceptional track record of hiring, building, and retaining multisite engineering and operational teams from early stages to scaled organizations.
Operational experience in fast paced, high growth, or pre IPO technology/manufacturing environments.
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering (Materials Science, Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical) or related technical field; Ph.D. or advanced degree preferred.

Nice To Haves

Preference for Battery Manufacturing Expertise

Responsibilities

Define and execute Sila’s Foundry Operations strategy to take battery cell manufacturing from pilot phase through multi GWh scale production.
Determine the right path to market, evaluate multiple options on manufacturing models, and downselect to the optimum path forward.
Lead site evaluation, scoping, clean/dry room design, equipment selection, and capability design.
Support and influence infrastructure (utilities, solvent/water recovery, dry rooms, hazardous material handling), and construction for both initial pilot facilities and future GWh scale gigafactories.
Direct equipment specification, line layouts, RFQ/tendering, vendor down selection, design reviews, FAT/SAT, commissioning, and operational handover across electrode, assembly, formation, aging, and testing blocks.
Recruit, structure, and mentor an automotive quality manufacturing engineering and operations organization, establishing leadership across process engineering, equipment, facilities, quality, automation, and plant operations.
Partner closely with Product and R&D teams to translate cell specifications, form factors, and safety targets into design for manufacturability (DFM) requirements and scalable production processes.
Collaborate with Commercial leadership to align plant capacity roadmaps, cell specifications, and manufacturing milestones with market demand and customer commitments.
Serve as the core operational voice to executive leadership and the Board on CapEx/OpEx allocation, site readiness, cost down roadmaps, risk mitigations, and execution timing.
Implement robust KPI driven operating systems, quality gated release processes, statistical process controls (SPC), and continuous improvement frameworks to optimize OEE, yield, cost per kWh, and safety.