Principal Cell Design Engineer

PROOF.; United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

PROOF. seeks a Head of Cell Design & Mechanical Architecture on the West Coast to lead the mechanical design, stacking architecture, and manufacturability of next‑generation solid‑state battery cells.

The role requires hands‑on leadership, deep CAD proficiency, DFA/GD&T expertise, and clear collaboration with materials, process, and product teams to ensure scalable, high‑yield cell designs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Manufacturing Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• 8+ years of relevant engineering experience.
• Experience with 3D CAD, precision mechanical design, tolerancing, and GD&T.

Responsibilities

• Lead mechanical and structural design of battery cells and multilayer architectures.
• Develop multiple design concepts and evaluate tradeoffs between energy density, performance, manufacturability, reliability, yield, and cost.
• Define cell dimensions, layer structures, interfaces, tolerances, alignment requirements, and mechanical constraints.
• Develop detailed 3D CAD models, drawings, assemblies, and engineering specifications.
• Apply GD&T and design-for-manufacturing principles to precision components and assemblies.
• Analyze mechanical stresses, dimensional variation, thermal expansion, layer interfaces, and other factors affecting cell reliability.
• Establish design rules and standards for future cell generations.
• Work closely with process engineering to develop robust stacking processes.
• Identify and resolve defects related to misalignment, layer damage, particles, mechanical stress, and interface failures.

Skills

3D CAD

GD&T

Mechanical design

Multilayer stacks

Design-for-manufacturing

Problem solving

Education

ME/related field

Job description

Head of Cell Design & Mechanical Architecture

Location: West Coast

Employment Type: Full-time

Level: Principal / Head of Function

About the Company

Our client is developing next-generation Solid-State battery cells using advanced manufacturing technologies. Our platform combines precision materials engineering, multilayer stacking, and advanced cell architectures to enable high-performance rechargeable batteries for demanding applications.

We are seeking a Head of Cell Design & Mechanical Architecture to lead the design and development of our next-generation battery cells.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role for an engineer who can translate cell requirements into cell architecture, mechanical design, CAD models, and manufacturable designs. The ideal candidate understands both design requirements and manufacturing processes well enough to make intelligent design-for-manufacturing decisions.

Role Overview

The Head of Cell Design will be the technical owner for cell architecture, mechanical design, CAD, and stacking architecture.

This role works closely with materials, process engineering, manufacturing, equipment engineering, and product development to ensure cell designs are technically sound, manufacturable, scalable, and capable of achieving required performance and yield.

Key Responsibilities

Cell Architecture & Mechanical Design

• Lead mechanical and structural design of battery cells and multilayer cell architectures
• Develop multiple cell design concepts and evaluate tradeoffs between energy density, performance, manufacturability, reliability, yield, and cost
• Define cell dimensions, layer structures, interfaces, tolerances, alignment requirements, and mechanical constraints
• Develop detailed 3D CAD models, drawings, assemblies, and engineering specifications
• Apply GD&T and design-for-manufacturing principles to precision components and assemblies
• Analyze mechanical stresses, dimensional variation, thermal expansion, layer interfaces, and other factors affecting cell reliability
• Establish design rules and standards for future cell generations

Stacking & Assembly Architecture

• Develop multilayer stacking concepts and assembly strategies
• Define layer sequence, alignment strategy, interfaces, registration requirements, and mechanical constraints
• Work closely with process engineering to develop robust stacking processes
• Identify and resolve defects associated with misalignment, layer damage, particles, mechanical stress, and interface failures
• Develop design features that improve assembly yield and process robustness

Design-for-Manufacturing

• Work closely with process engineers to ensure cell designs are compatible with manufacturing, patterning, cutting, stacking, and assembly processes
• Define design tolerances based on actual process capability
• Identify design changes that improve manufacturing yield and repeatability
• Participate in process capability studies and design-of-experiment activities
• Establish feedback loops between manufacturing data and cell design

Prototype & Validation

• Lead engineering builds and prototype cell design iterations
• Analyze cell performance and failure modes and translate findings into design improvements
• Work with characterization and testing teams to correlate cell design with performance
• Develop design verification plans and acceptance criteria
• Support root-cause analysis of mechanical and cell-level failures

Technical Leadership

• Serve as the technical authority for cell architecture and mechanical design
• Establish engineering standards, design methodologies, and design-review processes
• Mentor engineers and technicians working on cell design and assembly
• Lead cross-functional technical reviews and design decisions
• Communicate technical recommendations, risks, and tradeoffs to engineering leadership
• Support the transition from pilot to volume production

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Manufacturing Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field
• 8+ years of relevant engineering experience
• Strong experience with 3D CAD and mechanical design
• Demonstrated experience with precision mechanical design, tolerancing, and GD&T
• Experience designing multilayer structures, precision assemblies, or stacked devices
• Strong understanding of design-for-manufacturing principles
• Experience taking designs from concept through prototype and engineering validation
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to work hands-on in a laboratory/manufacturing environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with battery cell design or advanced energy-storage technologies
• Experience with precision manufacturing and vacuum or clean-room processing
• Experience with multilayer stacking and precision alignment
• Familiarity with materials characterization and failure analysis
• Experience working in a startup or rapidly changing R&D environment

Key Attributes

• Excellent mechanical and architectural design intuition
• Strong attention to dimensional detail and manufacturability
• Comfortable developing multiple design options rather than locking into the first concept
• Hands-on and willing to work directly with prototypes and manufacturing processes
• Data-driven and experimentally oriented
• Strong cross-functional communication
• Able to operate independently and provide technical leadership without requiring extensive direction