Chemical Technician - Battery Materials

Stealth-mode Battery Technology Co.; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary + meaningful equity

Flexible time off

Medical Healthcare Insurance + family

Dental and Vision Insurance + family

HSA option

FSA option

Job summary

Stealth-mode Battery Technology Co. is seeking a Chemical Technician (Materials Scale-up and Optimization) in Santa Clara, CA. You will support active material synthesis from benchtop to pilot scale (50 g to 5 kg) within the Materials R&D team.

Join a fast-paced, collaborative startup focused on sodium-ion battery materials, with equity and benefits. You will follow SOPs/DoE, handle powders and corrosives, and contribute to scale-up efforts.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required; technical certification preferred.
• Experience in chemical synthesis, preferably for battery materials.
• Ability to follow SOPs and DoE instructions precisely.
• Comfort handling fine powders and corrosive chemicals.
• Experience with gloveboxes.

Responsibilities

• Support synthesis trials at benchtop and pilot scale.
• Prepare metal salt solutions as precursors for precipitation.
• Pre-treat metal salt solutions to remove impurities.
• Operate precipitation reactor with process control software.
• Filter, wash, and dry reaction products.
• Perform powder processing and solid-state synthesis steps.
• Operate furnaces for calcination reactions.

Skills

Attention to detail

Documentation

Team collaboration

Communication

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Associate degree or technical certification

Tools

Process control software

Glovebox experience

Precipitation reactor operation

Job description

About Us:

We are building a world-class foundational science team, founded by former Tesla leadership. We’re a well-funded seed-stage sodium-ion battery company focused on truly redefining the future of energy storage and we are very excited about it.

The Role

As our Chemical Technician (Materials Scale-up and Optimization), you will work closely with the Materials R&D team. You will support active material synthesis trials with batch sizes typically ranging from benchtop scale (50-200 g) to pilot trials in the 1-5 kg range.

What You’ll Do

The following responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Hands-on support of synthesis trials at benchtop (50-200 g) and pilot scale (1-5 kg).
• Making solutions of metal salt solutions as precursors for precipitation reactions.
• Pre-treatment of metal salt solutions to eliminate impurities.
• Operation of precipitation reactor using process control software.
• Filtration, washing, drying of reaction products.
• Powder processing and solid-state synthesis steps such as ball milling, dry blending etc.
• Operation of tube furnaces and/or controlled atmosphere muffle furnaces for calcination reactions.

Qualifications We’re Seeking

• High school diploma or equivalent required; Associate degree or technical certification in manufacturing, materials science, chemistry, or engineering technology preferred.
• Working knowledge of chemical synthesis, preferably in production of battery active or similarly advanced solid materials.
• Ability to follow detailed SOPs and DoE instructions precisely.
• Comfort working with fine powders, corrosive acids and bases, and chemical handling procedures.
• Experience with working in gloveboxes.
• Ability to wear required PPE (respirators, gloves, safety glasses) for extended periods.
• Ability to lift heavy items (up to 40 lb.)
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to documentation accuracy.
• Good communication and observation skills

Bonus / Preferred

• Direct experience working with precipitation reactors at 5-10 L scale or higher, and/or with calcination processes
• Direct experience with synthesis process optimization and scale-up for cathode active materials used in Li-ion and/or Na-ion batteries.
• Direct experience with Li-ion and/or Na-ion battery cells and their components.
• Direct work experience with automated process controls and HMI systems.

Work Environment

• Innovative / flexible / yet fast-paced development environment
• Very close collaboration with technical team and stakeholders across the company
• Small, growing, international team from 7+ countries
• Office snacks include healthy options, chips, drinks
• Onsite work schedule currently

Why join:

• Ground-floor opportunity to shape both the science and the culture of a well-funded seed-stage company
• Direct access to founders; no bureaucratic barriers to pursuing bold ideas
• Work on a problem that matters - sodium-ion is one of the most consequential battery chemistries of the next decade

Benefits:

As a full-time regular employee, you're eligible for the following.

• Competitive salary + meaningful early-stage equity
• Flexible time off (for exempt employees)
• Medical Healthcare Insurance, plus additional coverage offered for family members
• Dental and Vision Insurance, plus additional coverage offered for family members
• HSA (Health Savings Account) option
• FSA (Flexible Spending Account) option