Back to jobs

Staff Process Engineer

Alameda, CA

About Us

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?

Who You Are

You are creative, proactive, meticulous, and hands-on. You understand the synthesis and scale up of novel, advanced materials. You are relentless at designing and developing scalable chemical and physical processes to manufacture novel materials to enable the global transition to renewable energy for Li-ion batteries. You possess a diverse skill set and are equally effective working with internal and external material development partners, proactively developing IP opportunities, and rigorously developing structure/process/property relationships to support new product development. You will utilize your previous experience in materials synthesis and scaleup to collaborate with a team with varied strengths of Research, Equipment Development, and Product representatives and help drive the development of novel, materials-based battery products

Responsibilities and Duties  

  • Lead efficient design of experiments (DOEs) and statistical analysis to enable best-in-class learning cycles for robust product development
  • Document and communicate findings to an array of partners, including customers, suppliers, contract manufacturers, and government funding agencies
  • Lead end-to-end process scale-up from pilot line to high-volume manufacturing (HVM), translating lab-validated processes into robust high-yield production through equipment selection, process design, statistical validation, and manufacturability optimization.
  • Balance product requirements and manufacturability, understanding product needs and commercial benchmarks, while de-risking process scale-up to meet project timing and cost objectives
  • Develop characterization and test methods to improve scientific understanding and manufacturability
  • Proactively identify safety hazards and work collaboratively to implement improvements

Knowledge and Skill Requirements 

  • Masters in Material Science, Chemical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry with 6+ years of relevant industry experience (fewer with advanced degree), or equivalent
  • Expertise in process development, statistical analysis, and advanced data analysis tools (e.g., Python, database mining, JMP)
  • Experience leading process scale-up and qualification activities across internal or external manufacturing environments.
  • Deep understanding of state-of-the-art material characterization techniques (e.g., SEM, TEM, XRD, XPS, Raman, Gas Chromatography)
  • Ability to clearly communicate technical findings to diverse audiences (verbal, written, presentation)
  • Experience with materials-based new product development and/or battery materials and electrochemical testing is a plus
  • Six Sigma experience with either Green or Black Belt certification is a plus

Physical Demands and Working Conditions

  • Pass a respirator fit test and be able to wear respiratory protection on a periodic basis
  • Wear personal protective equipment including, but not limited to, a lab coat, gloves, safety glasses, and steel toe safety shoes
  • Use a glove box to prepare samples
  • Operate analytical equipment at a bench
  • Move items up to 25 lbs with the assistance of lift equipment and carts
  • Move long distances (such as from building to building) and be stationary for extended periods of time
  • Operate a computer and other office equipment, such as a laptop, copier/printer, etc in a fixed location
  • Can travel domestically and internationally up to 20% to support commissioning and vendor/supplier engagements.

 

The starting base pay for this role is between $151,000 and $191,000 at the time of posting. The actual base pay depends on many factors, such as education, experience, and skills. Base pay is only one part of Sila’s competitive Total Rewards package that can include benefits, perks, equity, and bonuses.  The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. #LI-Onsite #LI-PL1

Working at Sila

We believe that building a diverse team at Sila helps us amplify our individual talents. We are an equal opportunity employer and committed to creating an inclusive environment where good ideas are free to come from anyone. We are proud to celebrate diversity and all qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, national origin, or any other status protected by law.

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at Sila? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Sila’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.