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Battery Product 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

As a Battery Product Engineer, you sit at the intersection of deep tech and market strategy. You are a "full-stack" technical contributor who translates complex customer pain points into high-performance cell prototypes. You build batteries, synthesize and analyze data, and hunt for the definitive proof that Sila’s anode material provides an advantage in new and emerging markets (e.g., ESS, data/AI centers robotaxi). You thrive when you are hands-on—designing rigorous experiments and building the batteries that prove our technology’s viability. You are as comfortable in the lab troubleshooting cell performance as you are drafting a multi-year product roadmap to navigate the "ambiguous middle" where science meets the commercial world. Driven by intellectual honesty, you follow the data wherever it leads and possess the product mindset necessary to help us deploy next-generation chemistry into the hands of global consumers.

Responsibilities and Duties  

  • Execute the Bench-to-Market Loop: Design, build, and test high-performance cell prototypes (stacked, pouch, cylindrical) to validate Sila’s material against specific customer requirements and emerging market use cases.
  • Translate Data into Insights: Analyze complex electrochemical datasets—including cycle life, swelling, and rate capability—to identify the "there-there" and determine if a technical path meets the commercial threshold.
  • Bridge Technical & Commercial Gaps: Act as the primary technical interface for external customers, synthesizing their challenges into actionable R&D experiments and sharing results that clarify the product’s value proposition.
  • Own the Product Roadmap: Facilitate cross-functional collaboration between R&D, Operations, and Business Development to ensure that lab-level wins are scalable and aligned with long-term market opportunities.
  • Design for Discovery: Create and carry out rigorous experimental plans to explore the boundaries of our material, proactively identifying both the "unfair advantages" and the technical limitations of Sila's technology in new applications.
  • Champion the "Silazen" Way: Invest in our company values, maintaining a culture of intellectual honesty and first-principles thinking as we scale our technology to global markets.

Knowledge and Skill Requirements 

  • Project Leadership: Ability to carefully plan, implement, and pivot multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced R&D environment.
  • Battery Fundamentals: A strong technical background in lithium-ion batteries is a MUST. You should be deeply familiar with cell design, electrode fabrication, and the electrochemical trade-offs (energy vs. power vs. cycle life) inherent in advanced anode materials.
  • Scientific Rigor: A well-organized and data-driven approach to problem-solving and experimental design (DOE). You are driven by curiosity, attention to detail, and the intellectual honesty to face inconvenient data.
  • Analytical Stack: Proficiency in databases and data analysis tools; experience with JMP, Python, or SQL is preferred for synthesizing large-scale cycling and characterization datasets.
  • Technical Advocacy: Exceptional communication abilities, with the skill to translate complex electrochemical results into a clear "data-rich narrative" for both internal R&D teams and external customers.
  • Customer-Facing Experience: Direct experience working with customers or partners to understand technical pain points and define success metrics.
  • Lab Excellence: Deep understanding of lab safety best practices and experience working hands-on in a battery prototyping environment (e.g., glovebox, dry room).
  • The "There-There" Instinct: Experience taking products from lab-scale validation to market-ready prototypes is a strong plus.
  • Education & Experience: At least a M.S. in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or a related field with 5+ years of experience in the battery industry. Candidates with an advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) and significant research experience may require fewer years of industry experience.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions

  • Wear personal protective equipment including, but not limited to, a lab coat, gloves, safety glasses, and steel toe safety shoes
  • Operate a computer and other office equipment, such as a laptop, copier/printer, etc in a fixed location
  • Move long distances (such as from building to building) and be stationary for extended periods of time
  • (As needed) Pass a respirator fit test and be able to wear respiratory protection 
  • Up to 20% domestic and international travel as needed

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, and equity.  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.

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