Director, Battery Engineering

Sila; Alameda (CA); On-site; USD 207,000 - 262,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Bonuses

Job summary

Sila is seeking a seasoned engineering leader to drive Battery Engineering across Customer Applications and Cell Scaling. You will shape team structure, mentor engineers, and ensure execution aligns with Sila’s commercial goals.

You will lead a cross-functional group spanning R&D, Operations, Product, and Commercial leadership, applying scaling and process discipline to accelerate adoption of Sila’s silicon anode materials and cell designs.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of direct people management experience leading engineering, science, or technical teams.
• 10+ years of battery industry experience spanning cell development, OEM qualification cycles, and CM execution.
• Proven ability to establish team workflows, prioritization, and cross-functional processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead Battery Engineering across Customer Applications and Cell Scaling.
• Guide team operations, career development, and alignment with commercial goals.
• Build scalable org structures and ensure effective cross-functional collaboration.

Skills

People Leadership

Battery industry depth

Operational scaling

Communication & advocacy

Education

B.S. or advanced degree in Engineering/Physical Sciences

Job description

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

You are a seasoned engineering leader who brings a proven track record of bridging technical customer engagement with cell design, high-volume manufacturing, and Contract Manufacturing (CM) execution. You bring the practical experience needed to see around corners, anticipate integration bottlenecks, and establish clear operational momentum.

While you respect the deep domain expertise of your team, your focus is on creating the organizational structure, clarity, and leadership backing required for engineers to perform at their best. In this role, you will lead Sila’s Battery Engineering group across both Customer Application Engineering and Cell Scaling, guiding team operations, fostering career development, and ensuring technical execution aligns with Sila’s commercial goals.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Drive Customer Adoption & Cell Qualification: Provide leadership and oversight for team deliverables across customer application engineering, cell prototyping design transfer, and OEM qualification—ensuring Sila’s silicon anode materials and cell designs are successfully integrated into partner platforms.
• Anticipate Scaling & Integration Challenges: Apply your background in physical product scaling to help the team spot technical risks early, resolve complex cell adoption/manufacturing bottlenecks, and navigate contract manufacturing handoffs.
• Drive Commercial Results: Partner closely with Commercial, Business Development, and Product leadership to ensure battery engineering milestones directly support customer pipeline progression, joint development agreements, and revenue targets.
• Develop People & Build a Scaling Org: Lead, mentor, and advocate for an engineering team spanning customer applications and cell engineering. Design clear career pathways, conduct constructive performance reviews, and structure the team for long-term scale.
• Streamline Operations & Cross-Functional Alignment: Establish efficient team workflows and prioritization frameworks that maintain focus on high-impact goals while protecting team capacity. Serve as the functional bridge for Battery Engineering across R&D, Operations, Product, and Commercial leadership.

Knowledge and Skill Requirements

• People Leadership: 5+ years of direct people management experience leading engineering, science, or technical teams, with a track record of talent development, performance management, and building high-trust team cultures.
• Lithium-Ion Battery Industry Depth: 10+ years (12+ preferred) of battery industry experience spanning lithium-ion cell development, OEM customer qualification cycles (e.g., A/B/C sample testing), design transfer, and commercial-scale cell manufacturing or CM execution.
• Operational & Scaling Mastery: Proven success establishing team workflows, project prioritization frameworks, and cross-functional execution processes across cell development, scaling, or contract manufacturing environments.
• Communication & Strategic Advocacy: Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with a track record of advocating for team needs, communicating complex technical trade-offs, and building alignment across cross-functional commercial and technical partners.
• Education: B.S. or advanced degree (M.S./Ph.D. preferred) in Engineering, Physical Sciences, or a related field.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions

• Anticipated travel up to 25% required, both domestic and international
• 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

The starting base pay for this role is between $207,000 and $262,000 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, equity, and bonuses. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future.

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.

As set forth in Sila’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.