Senior Systems Engineer, Energy Storage

Redwood Materials Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 165,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Redwood Materials in San Francisco, CA, seeks an early member of a new engineering team to lead system engineering for a new product. You will define clear requirements, down‑select architectures, and drive decisions across mechanical, electrical, and software engineers in a fast‑moving startup environment.

Ideal candidate has 5+ years in design or system engineering, strong physics intuition, and experience with energy storage or powertrain development; proficiency in Python or Matlab; strong

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering or Electrical Engineering.
• Strong first‑principles physics understanding of electrical and mechanical systems.
• Experience with hybrid or electric powertrain development, PV system development, or energy storage systems.
• Proficiency with system modeling tools (Python or Matlab).
• Experience with requirement management tools (Doors, Jama, etc).
• Demonstrated ability to write clear and testable engineering requirements.

Responsibilities

• Drive system architecture optimization to top‑level product metrics such as cost, efficiency, energy/power density and availability.
• Ownership of system‑level performance and functional requirements as well as development of subsystem and component requirements in partnership with design engineers
• Performing or defining system modeling, simulation, and testing to validate system performance against requirements.
• Establishing interface definitions across components and between mechanical, electrical, and software teams.
• Reinforce system safety and reliability through participation in DFMEAs, risk assessments, and hazard analyses to identify and mitigate potential failure modes
• Ensuring compliance with industry (UL) standards

Skills

System engineering

Physics understanding

Strong communication

Adaptability

Problem solving

Education

BS in Mechanical or Electrical Eng

MS in Mechanical or Electrical Eng

Tools

Python

MATLAB

Job description

About Redwood Materials

Redwood Materials was founded in 2017 by JB Straubel, co‑founder and former CTO of Tesla, on a simple but radical idea: the critical minerals powering the energy transition already exist. They just need to come back. Today Redwood is the largest lithium‑ion battery recycler in North America — recovering, refining, and redeploying critical minerals from end‑of‑life batteries back into the supply chain. On the energy side, Redwood has deployed the largest second‑life battery project in the world, delivering power to AI data centers in months rather than years using proprietary energy architecture engineered entirely in‑house. The company is profitable, the market it operates in is projected to grow 20 to 50 times over the next decade, and Redwood is the only company with the supply chain, the technology, and the operational scale to lead it.

Position Summary:

You will be an early member of a new engineering team, taking a hands‑on role in the design, development, and integration of a new product at Redwood. This position will lead our system engineering effort, helping our mechanical, electrical, and software engineers come together and deliver a cohesive system. You will define clear requirements, evaluate and down‑select system architectures, and drive the decision throughout the engineering organization. You are a believer and practitioner of model‑driven design and have right‑sized system engineering frameworks for a scrappy, fast‑moving engineering team.

The ideal candidate is highly self‑driven, adaptable to a startup environment, and eager to take on novel technical challenges. If you’re excited about working in a dynamic, fast‑paced setting within a new department at Redwood, we want to hear from you!

Responsibilities:

• Driving system architecture optimization to top‑level product metrics such as cost, efficiency, energy/power density and availability.
• Ownership of system‑level performance and functional requirements as well as development of subsystem and component requirements in partnership with design engineers
• Performing or defining system modeling, simulation, and testing to validate system performance against requirements.
• Establishing interface definitions across components and between mechanical, electrical, and software teams.
• Reinforce system safety and reliability through participation in DFMEAs, risk assessments, and hazard analyses to identify and mitigate potential failure modes
• Ensuring compliance with industry (UL) standards

Desired Qualifications:

• BS or MS in Mechanical Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field and 5+ years of design engineering or system engineering experience.
• Excellent first‑principles physics understanding of electrical and mechanical systems, power delivery, energy storage and transformation, and basic thermal mechanics.
• Experience with hybrid or electric powertrain development, PV system development, or energy storage systems
• Proficiency in system modeling tools (Python or Matlab)
• Experience with requitement management tools (Doors, Jama, etc)
• Demonstrated ability to write clear and testable engineering requirements.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.

California Pay Range:

In accordance with California pay transparency laws, the salary range for this position is listed below. Actual compensation may vary based on a variety of factors, including experience, education, and skills.

$165,000 — $210,000 USD

The position is full‑time. Compensation will be commensurate with experience.

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