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Salary: USD 168,000 - 212,000 / 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.
As Program Manager, you will serve as the "flight control tower" for Sila's critical, multi-year integrated programs. This is a leadership role that bridges R&D, engineering, capital projects, and commercial workstreams to ensure complex products scale smoothly from lab to market. You will orchestrate sequencing, integration, and high-stakes decision-making required to land strategic objectives safely, on time, and aligned with target financial metrics.
Key responsibilities include:
• Integrated Leadership: Drive major cross-functional programs linking R&D (materials, equipment, battery development), Operations (manufacturing), Capital Projects (manufacturing scale-up), and Product + Commercial teams (customer "Plans to Win").
• Workflow Architecture: Design and communicate workflows to resolve complex uncertainties and decisions. Maintain the "single source of truth" (integrated databases and governance tools) to keep objectives, metrics, and technical data synchronized across functions.
• Execution & Sequencing: Optimize the timing of R&D breakthroughs, scale-up projects, and commercial milestones to hit financial and strategic targets (e.g., revenue run rate, ROIC).
• Executive Communication & Partnership: Serve as the central point of accountability for program health, working closely with the Exec Sponsor and Steering Team. Deliver crisp status updates, risk assessments, and roadblock resolutions to executives and collaborators. Lead and participate in company-wide, cross-program prioritization efforts.
• Decision & Risk Management: Lead executives and functional managers through high-stakes decisions (e.g., project scoping, partner selection) and proactively mitigate cross-program dependencies before they impact timelines.
Physical demands include the ability to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) including safety glasses, lab coats, and steel-toe shoes when visiting laboratory or manufacturing environments, and the ability to work at a computer for extended periods.
REQUIREMENTS:
• 10+ years in battery technology, automotive, chemical process, semiconductor, oil & gas, or similarly complex hardware-plus-process industry
• 5+ years leading complex technical and/or business programs that integrate R&D, manufacturing scale-up, and commercial execution
• Proven experience transferring novel technology and/or products from R&D into high-volume manufacturing environments
• Bachelor's degree or higher in Engineering or Physical Science
• Deep expertise in core program and project management disciplines: decision quality, scheduling, budgeting, project framing, financial analysis, risk communication and analysis, and resource allocation
• Proven ability to navigate matrix models, ensuring functional activities support macro program objectives
• Skilled at distilling complex technical, financial, and commercial data into clear, actionable insights for diverse audiences
• Adept at driving alignment among executives and SMEs, escalating effectively, and balancing technical risks with business objectives
• Strong understanding of Stage-Gate methodologies, with ability to leverage Agile or Waterfall frameworks
• Comfortable driving execution and maintaining momentum in the face of uncertainties, shifting strategies, and fluid deliverables
