Senior Manager, Battery Design Engineering

Brelle; Los Alamitos (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision

401(k)

Flexible PTO

Team meals twice a week

Monthly team events

Job summary

Brelle in California seeks a Senior Manager for Battery Design Engineering to lead architecture decisions and drive a small team delivering modular battery systems from concept to production. You will own design standards and work closely with product and program priorities while mentoring engineers and remaining hands-on with prototyping, testing, and analysis to ensure safety and manufacturability.

This role combines technical leadership with hands-on engineering, enabling rapid iteration in a

Qualifications

• 7+ years of battery pack/module design and development.
• BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering or Electrical Engineering.
• Deep expertise across battery system architecture: cell integration, thermal management, HV safety, and structural design.
• Advanced CAD proficiency at design detail level.
• Strong understanding of DFM across manufacturing processes.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop battery module and pack architecture with cell integration and thermal management.
• Evaluate architecture trade-offs in energy density, weight, thermal, cost, safety, and manufacturability.
• Lead DFMEA, DVP&R, design release, and homologation with hands-on analysis and documentation.
• Set design standards and review cadences embedding safety and quality.
• Prototype, test, debug, and iterate hardware with the team.
• Guide battery systems roadmap aligned with product priorities.
• Coordinate milestones across mechanical, electrical, thermal, and structural streams.
• Lead and grow a small battery engineering team, mentoring engineers.
• Be an approachable leader who works with the team to solve problems.

Skills

Battery design

CAD proficiency

DFM principles

Thermal management

HV safety

Structural design

Education

Mechanical Eng degree

Electrical Eng degree

Job description

About Brelle

Energy for what moves us.

Brelle develops frontier technology that pushes what’s possible in electrified performance. Based in California, we engineer next-generation platforms for supercars and superbikes, working alongside leading high-performance brands across the U.S. and Europe.

Our innovations are built on a novel pack architecture, a full-stack software platform, and an advanced approach to automated manufacturing. Joining Brelle means working on making electric vehicles—on the road and on the racetrack—lighter, more engaging, safer, and capable of charging in minutes.

Our engineering teams operate like small Skunkworks teams: nimble, cross-functional, and highly technical. Engineers are encouraged to explore new concepts and materials, move quickly from concept to prototype, and have significant autonomy to develop and release their parts across programs.

We're building something ambitious in a highly competitive market, and the bar is high. We need people who are exceptional at what they do, take real ownership, and are willing to do what the moment requires.

About the Role

As Senior Manager for Battery Design Engineering, you will be a hands-on contributor to Brelle’s battery systems – working through architecture decisions and staying close to the engineering details as module and pack development moves from concept to production across mechanical, electrical, thermal, and safety domains. You’ll also lead a small engineering team, acting as an approachable, guiding mentor who works alongside them rather than directing from a distance.

What You'll Do

• Design and develop battery module and pack architecture — cell integration, thermal management, HV safety, electromechanical systems, and structural design

• Work through architecture trade-offs across energy density, weight, thermal performance, cost, safety, and manufacturability, and drive them to a decision

• Run design reviews and engineering processes — DFMEA, DVP&R, design release, and certification/homologation — with a hands-on role in the actual analysis and documentation, not just process oversight

• Set and uphold design standards and review cadences that embed safety and quality into rapid iteration

• Get hands-on with hardware and analysis — prototyping, testing, debugging, and iterating alongside the team

• Guide technical direction for the battery systems roadmap, in close coordination with product and program priorities

• Coordinate milestones and dependencies across mechanical, electrical, thermal, and structural workstreams to keep delivery on track

• Lead and grow a small battery engineering team — hiring and developing talented engineers, and staying closely involved in their day-to-day work

• Be an approachable, hands-on leader who works alongside the team, not just directing from above — someone engineers can bring problems to and dig into solutions with

• Foster a culture of technical excellence and intellectual honesty, where engineers are encouraged to challenge assumptions and pursue novel solutions

What We're Looking For

• 7+ years of experience in battery pack/module design and development

• BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field

• Deep expertise across battery system architecture: cell integration, thermal management, HV safety, and structural design

• Advanced CAD proficiency with the ability to engage at the design detail level

• Strong understanding of DFM across multiple processes: injection molding, stamping, casting, composites, machining

You are...

Exceptional at what you do — You have a track record of doing excellent work, solving difficult problems, and raising the bar for the people around you. We're a small team, and we need people who can operate at a very high level without needing a lot of direction.

An Owner — You take responsibility for outcomes, not just tasks. You see what needs to happen, make decisions, and drive problems through to completion.

Curious and Rigorous — You dig into hard problems, reason from first principles, and care about getting to the right answer—not just the fastest answer.

High Standards, Low Ego — You care deeply about technical excellence while being collaborative, direct, humble, and good to the people around you. You make the team better, not just yourself.

Willing to Lean In — We're building a company in a highly competitive market, and we're still proving ourselves. Most weeks should be sustainable, but there will be moments when the company needs us to sprint. When the moment matters, we expect people to step up, take ownership, and show up for the team.

Compensation & Benefits

Base Salary: $170,000 - $200,000

Meaningful equity participation through Brelle's Employee Incentive Plan.

• Medical, dental, and vision (HMO/PPO)

• 401(k)

• Flexible PTO

• Team meals twice a week

• Monthly team events

Build something exceptional. Own your work. See it move.