Process Engineer, New Product Introduction (NPI)

CelLink; San Carlos (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical and dental coverage

Employee stock option plan

Job summary

CelLink is seeking a Process Engineer in San Carlos, CA, to join the New Product Introduction (NPI) team. This role involves designing and scaling processes for high-volume manufacturability across various industries including EV and aerospace. Candidates should have a degree in a relevant field and substantial experience in manufacturing process design.

The position offers a base salary ranging from $120,000 to $170,000, alongside opportunities for professional growth and participation in stock option plans.

Qualifications

• 5-7+ years of professional experience in process engineering.
• Experience with high-volume manufacturing methods.
• Ability to safely operate and troubleshoot manufacturing equipment.

Responsibilities

• Design and scale processes from prototype to production.
• Build and qualify first articles while ensuring process readiness.
• Conduct structured experiments and root cause analysis.

Skills

Manufacturability process design

Statistical methods

Complex data interpretation

Collaboration across functions

Education

Bachelor's degree in Materials Science, Physics, Chemical Engineering, or related field

Tools

JMP

Minitab

Job description

Process Engineer – New Product Introduction (NPI)

As a Process Engineer on our New Product Introduction (NPI) team, you’ll be at the forefront of transforming advanced manufacturing concepts into real-world products and solutions. Your role will be to design and scale processes that bridge the gap between prototype and production, ensuring high-volume manufacturability, validating first articles, and enabling the successful launch of products across EV, energy storage, and aerospace industries. This is more than engineering; it’s turning bold ideas into manufacturable realities that accelerate the future of power and data transmission.

These openings are for Level 4-5 engineers.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Scale innovative processes from prototype to high-volume manufacturing, driving yield, throughput, and manufacturability
• Design, implement, and validate manufacturing processes that ensure product scalability, quality, and reliability
• Build and qualify first articles while establishing process readiness for customer and internal validation
• Partner with customer-facing teams and cross-functional engineering groups to prove out product viability and readiness for commercialization
• Identify product development needs and act as a conduit for aligning process roadmaps with customer requirements and future technologies
• Conduct structured experiments and root cause analysis to de-risk manufacturing scale-up and accelerate product launches
• Work hands‑on with high-volume manufacturing and R&D equipment
• Develop process documentation and train staff to ensure smooth handoff from NPI into sustained high-volume production

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)

Experience/Education

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Materials Science, Physics, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, or related field.
• 5-7+ years of hands‑on professional experience

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Proven experience scaling processes from prototype to production.
• Strong background in process design for manufacturability, yield improvement, and cost reduction.
• Experience with prototype builds, first article validation, and technical collaboration.
• Prior manufacturing start‑up experience.
• Familiarity with advanced materials and high‑volume manufacturing methods (e.g., vacuum lamination, thermally-activated adhesives, roll‑to‑roll processing, material patterning, laser welding)
• Solid background in statistical methods, data visualization, systematic experiment design, and related software (e.g., JMP, Minitab, etc.)
• Ability to synthesize and interpret complex data sets to understand physical phenomena and support data-driven decisions.
• Ability to safely and confidently operate and troubleshoot custom manufacturing and metrology equipment.
• Independent problem solver with a desire to learn new skills and new technology.
• Strong organization skills and a detail-oriented mindset.
• Able to adapt to changing requirements in a fast-paced start-up setting.
• Strong communicator and collaborator, energized by working across functions to bring products to market.

At CelLink, you won’t just be scaling processes - you’ll be building the bridge between innovation and mass production.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

Salaried Exempt.

Physical Demands – Office and Manufacturing Environment

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to use hands or finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls. The employee is required to stand, walk, sit, reach with hands and arms and pull/push, climb or balance, and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must lift and/or move up to 50 pounds without assistance. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment

Includes both a typical office environment, with minimal exposure to excessive noise or adverse environmental issues, and a shop environment, with exposure to high noise levels from operating machines, physical hazards from moving equipment and machine parts, nuisance dust, and skin exposure to chemicals used to run/maintain machines.

PPE

• May be required to wear Personal Protective Equipment, including but not limited to safety glasses, safety shoes, bump‑caps, gloves, hair nets, masks, and clean‑room frocks while adhering to the prescribed safety procedures.

CelLink California Privacy Policy.

Compensation

The base pay is just one part of CelLink's total compensation package and is determined within a range. The pay range is designed to support your career progression as you learn, grow, and develop within your role. Your base pay range will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location. At CelLink, we believe that each employee should have the opportunity to become a CelLink shareholder through participation in CelLink's discretionary employee stock option plan. You'll also receive comprehensive medical and dental coverage and other great benefits. Note: CelLink benefits, compensation, and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements.

San Carlos, CA

Base Pay: $120,000 — $170,000 USD

EEO Statement and Commitment to Diversity

We believe diversity and inclusion among our teammates are essential to our success. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees while building teams that represent a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We are an equal opportunity employer. All employment is decided based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. CelLink participates in the E‑Verify program in specific locations as required by law.

About CelLink

CelLink was founded in 2012 and entered volume production in 2018. CelLink provides electrical systems to the world's leading automotive OEMs & EV manufacturers, data center developers, and stationary power companies. The company has raised approximately $315M in funding through private investment and multiple grants from the US Department of Energy. CelLink’s investors include 3M, Atreides, BMW, BorgWarner, Bosch, D1 Capital, Fidelity, Fontinalis Partners, Ford, Franklin Templeton, Lear, Park West, SK Telecom, Standard Investments, T. Rowe Price, Tinicum, and Whale Rock.