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Salary: USD 207,000 - 262,000 / annual
Sila Nanotechnologies is a next-generation battery materials company on a mission to power the world's transition to clean energy. The company engineers and manufactures breakthrough battery materials that significantly increase energy density while reducing size and weight, enabling smaller, more powerful batteries for consumer devices and electric vehicles.
The Director of Cell Equipment and Manufacturing Engineering will build and lead the technical organization responsible for equipment specification, vendor selection, machinery bring-up, and manufacturing line optimization across Sila's cell production facilities. Reporting directly to the VP of Foundry Operations, this executive serves as the primary authority for transforming cell process chemistry into high-speed, automated, and audit-ready manufacturing lines.
This role is distinct from early-stage R&D Battery Engineering; while R&D develops lab-scale cells, this director owns the physical industrialization—taking custom machinery from initial concept and sourcing through installation, line bring-up, and steady-state high-yield production.
Key responsibilities include:
- Define standard equipment requirements, line architecture, machine safety protocols, and line layouts across electrode, cell assembly, formation, aging, and end-of-line testing
- Direct technical RFQs, vendor evaluations, design reviews, and technical agreements with global equipment OEMs across North America, Europe, and Asia
- Own end-to-end equipment commissioning: Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) at vendor sites, oversee shipping and installation, and execute Site Acceptance Testing (SAT) and mechanical/electrical bring-up
- Lead process engineering and line optimization post-commissioning to drive throughput, yield, OEE, statistical process control (SPC), and cost-down roadmaps
- Collaborate with R&D Battery Engineering and Product teams to align cell specifications and form factors to automated assembly tooling and high-rate lines
- Partner with Capital Project team on construction and cell infrastructure integration, including clean rooms, dry rooms, solvent recovery systems, hazardous material handling, and dry air systems
- Direct integration of machine controls, PLC architectures, robotics, and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) to track production data, quality metrics, and maintenance scheduling
- Recruit, mentor, and scale a multi-disciplinary team spanning equipment engineers, process engineers, controls/automation engineers, and field service technicians
- Finalize equipment specifications, supplier matrix, and capital expenditure plans for Sila's initial GWh-scale commercial plant lines
The ideal candidate blends rigorous equipment engineering expertise with deep operational bring-up experience. You know how to author tight equipment specifications, run global tendering processes with machine builders, manage FAT/SAT, and lead hands-on line commissioning in dry room and cleanroom environments. You are a low-ego, data-driven leader who excels at bridging technical teams and scaling talent in high-growth hardware environments.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Minimum 10+ years in equipment engineering, battery manufacturing engineering, or automated industrial machinery bring-up, with 5+ years leading technical engineering teams
- Direct experience specifying, selecting, and bringing up core cell manufacturing machinery: mixers, coaters, slitters, winders/stackers, tab welders, pouch/can sealers, electrolyte filling, formation/aging systems, and EOL test equipment
- Proven track record running vendor selection, design reviews, and FAT/SAT with global equipment OEMs
- Hands-on experience taking complex hardware lines through commissioning to qualified, high-yield production
- Practical understanding of dry room requirements (dew point controls), cleanrooms, and chemical/hazardous media safety compliance
- Experience operating in fast-paced, high-growth, hardware environments with a pragmatic, continuous-improvement mindset
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or related technical field
