SlipstreamJobs tracks this role from the company's public career site. Apply directly on the employer's site.
Salary: USD 170,000 - 195,000 / annual
Redwood Materials, founded in 2017 by JB Straubel (Tesla co-founder and former CTO), is North America's largest lithium-ion battery recycler and has deployed the world's largest second-life battery project for AI data centers. The company is profitable and positioned to lead a market projected to grow 20–50x over the next decade.
The Senior Battery Test and Validation Engineer owns and runs Redwood's battery characterization program, serving as the technical authority on test design, execution, and interpretation. This fully on-site role (100 Hooper, San Francisco) translates open-ended performance, compliance, and system-level questions into rigorous test protocols and delivers data-driven answers that inform pack qualification decisions. The engineer sits at the center of understanding how second-life battery systems for data centers behave across varied cell chemistries, form factors, and usage histories, generating foundational data that feeds site operating parameters, battery models, and algorithms.
Key responsibilities include:
- Designing test protocols by translating high-level performance and compliance questions into concrete test matrices, channel allocations, and timelines
- Executing and managing concurrent test and screening campaigns across multiple battery types at cell, module, and pack levels, including cycler programming, test monitoring, and failure root-cause analysis
- Driving lab infrastructure and equipment strategy, evaluating and recommending cycler and chamber purchases, fixture design, and channel capacity planning as the program scales
- Analyzing, interpreting, and presenting test data to technical and non-technical stakeholders, turning raw results into clear engineering conclusions that inform qualification decisions and program risk assessment
- Innovating on test methodology and execution to extract maximum insight from limited channels and time, including smarter test matrix designs, advanced cycler programming, and developing automation scripts
- Collaborating with battery software and data engineering teams to define, prioritize, and validate software automation of characterization processes
Requirements:
- BS or MS in Engineering (Mechanical, Chemical, Materials, Electrical) or related field
- Minimum 3 years of experience
- Strong intuition for lithium-ion cell behavior, operating limits, cell-level failure modes, and degradation mechanisms
- Hands-on experience with electrochemical characterization techniques such as HPPC, EIS, dQ/dV analysis, and cycle life testing
- Proficiency in data analysis and scripting with Python or MATLAB
- Experience with battery cycler platforms (e.g., Arbin, Maccor, Neware) including test programming and troubleshooting
- Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively with systems engineers, battery algorithms engineers, compliance teams, and program managers
- Deep drive to automate workflows and reduce manual processes to improve test efficiency and minimize errors
- Bonus: experience with AI tools (especially coding assistants like Cursor or Claude Code), background in EV battery pack qualification or validation programs, familiarity with battery safety and compliance standards (UN38.3, UL2580, UL1974)
