Director, Cell Equipment & High-Throughput Manufacturing

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

Job summary

Sila Nanotechnologies, Inc. seeks a Director of Cell Equipment and Manufacturing Engineering to lead the equipment specification, vendor selection, and line bring-up across our cell production facilities.

You will drive automation, FAT/SAT, and high-yield production with a data-driven leadership style. Reporting to the VP of Foundry Operations, you will scale multi-disciplinary teams, collaborate with R&D and Product, and shape the GWh-scale manufacturing roadmap in a fast-growing hardware

Qualifications

• 10+ years in equipment engineering or automated industrial machinery bring-up
• 5+ years leading technical engineering teams
• Experience specifying, selecting, and bringing up core lithium-ion manufacturing machinery
• Proven vendor selection, FAT/SAT, and global equipment OEM collaborations
• Practical understanding of dry rooms, cleanrooms, and hazardous materials safety
• Experience in fast-growth hardware environments with continuous improvement
• Bachelor’s or Master’s in Mechanical/Electrical/Chemical engineering or related field

Responsibilities

• 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: FAT at vendor sites, oversee shipping and installation, and execute SAT
• Lead process engineering and line optimization post-commissioning to drive throughput, yield, and SPC
• Collaborate with R&D Battery Engineering and Product teams to align cell specifications and form factors for automated tooling
• Partner with Capital Project team to execute construction, integrating clean rooms, dry rooms, solvent recovery, hazardous materials handling
• Direct the integration of machine controls, PLC architectures, robotics, and MES to track data, quality, and maintenance
• Recruit, mentor, and scale a multi-disciplinary team of equipment, process, controls/automation engineers, and technicians
• Finalize equipment specifications, supplier matrix, and capex plans for initial GWh-scale plant lines

Skills

Leadership

Equipment Engineering

Battery Manufacturing

Vendor Management

Line Bring-Up

FAT/SAT

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Engineering

Tools

MES

PLC Systems

Robotics

Job description

Sila Nanotechnologies, Inc. seeks a Director of Cell Equipment and Manufacturing Engineering to lead the equipment specification, vendor selection, and line bring-up across our cell production facilities.

You will drive automation, FAT/SAT, and high-yield production with a data-driven leadership style. Reporting to the VP of Foundry Operations, you will scale multi-disciplinary teams, collaborate with R&D and Product, and shape the GWh-scale manufacturing roadmap in a fast-growing hardware