TE - Advanced Battery Recycling

Ford Motor Company; Dearborn (MI); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Prescription drug coverage

Parental leave

Back-up child care

Adoption and surrogacy support

Vehicle discount program

Tuition assistance

Employee resource groups

Paid time off

Holiday time off

Job summary

Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, MI is seeking a Senior Battery Materials Engineer to evaluate and qualify battery materials, manage supplier and recycling partnerships, and drive circular supply strategies. You will lead cross-functional teams to develop cost models and assess technology readiness, shaping Ford's materials strategy for sustainable mobility.

You will collaborate with Commercial, Business Development, Strategy, and technical partners to advance materials sourcing, recycling

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in chemical engineering, chemistry, materials science, engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in value chain, manufacturing, quality, engineering, research and development, or a related area.
• 3+ years of experience with lithium-ion battery materials, battery recycling, or related processes.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Willingness to travel as needed.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate projects with battery-material suppliers, recyclers, and technology partners, tracking progress and aligning risks with sourcing objectives.
• Provide technical expertise on sourcing and recycling cell materials, including cathode, anode, separator, electrolyte, and recovered materials.
• Develop, review, approve and maintain core engineering documents on raw materials specifications and end-of-life disposal/recycling materials.
• Support battery-material selection and source evaluations; conduct supplier and recycler due diligence, technical assessments, and quality audits.
• Provide technical and quality guidance to partners to develop battery-material manufacturing, recycling, and recovery capabilities.
• Evaluate manufacturing and recycling processes, lead qualification of materials, and assess readiness for use in cell manufacturing.
• Build cost models for material and recycling value chains and communicate findings to stakeholders.

Skills

Value chain experience

Cross-functional collaboration

Lithium-ion battery materials

Education

Master’s degree in chemical engineering, chemistry, materials science, or related field

PhD in chemical engineering, chemistry, materials science, or related field

Job description

We made history and now we work to transform the future – for our customers, our communities and our families. You'll see your work on the road every day, helping people move freely and pursue their dreams. At Ford, you can build more than vehicles. Come build what matters.

At Ford, the Vehicle Hardware Engineering teams are using Design Thinking & User Experience methods to deliver breakthrough products and services that will delight our customers. Our employees are laser-focused on bringing innovative, exciting, and sustainable ideas to life. From autonomy and electrification to smart mobility technologies, our teams around the world are working together with excitement to make smart vehicles for a smart world.

This role works across internal functions and with suppliers, recyclers, and technology partners to evaluate materials and processes, develop and qualify supply sources, manage technical and quality risks, and advance circular and localized supply strategies. The successful candidate will connect cell-material requirements with supplier and recycling capabilities to support quality, cost, supply resilience, and Ford Plus initiatives.

In this position

• Lead and coordinate projects with battery-material suppliers, recyclers, and technology partners, tracking technical and quality progress and aligning risks with sourcing objectives.
• Provide technical expertise to Commercial, Business Development, Strategy, and other stakeholder teams on sourcing and recycling cell materials, including cathode, anode, separator, electrolyte, and recovered materials.
• Lead the development, review, approval, and maintenance of core engineering documents (ES, FMA etc) on raw materials specifications and end of life disposal/recycling materials. Own the technical sign-off process for assigned documents and requirements.
• Support battery-material selection and source evaluations; conduct supplier and recycler due diligence, technical assessments, and quality audits.
• Provide technical and quality engineering guidance to partners and suppliers to develop battery-material manufacturing, recycling, and recovery capabilities.

What You’ll Do

• Evaluate manufacturing and recycling processes and technologies, and lead or support qualification of battery materials and recovered materials for potential use in cell manufacturing.
• Assess recycling process routes and capabilities, including feedstock handling, material recovery, process yields, material quality, and downstream reuse potential.
• Develop battery-material and recycling value-chain models, including localization strategies, feedstock and supply options, and circularity opportunities.
• Build and analyze detailed cost models for material and recycling value chains.
• Review emerging cell-material, battery-recycling, and processing technologies; assess their technical readiness, risks, and potential supply-chain implications.
• Identify and communicate technical, quality, operational, and supply risks; develop recommendations and mitigation plans.
• Build effective relationships across internal and external organizations to enable cross-functional execution.
• Communicate technical findings, trade-offs, risks, and recommendations clearly to stakeholders at all levels.

You’ll have

• Master’s degree in chemical engineering, chemistry, materials science, engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in value chain, manufacturing, quality, engineering, research and development, or a related area.
• 3+ years of experience with lithium-ion battery materials, battery recycling, or related processes.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Willingness to travel as needed.

Even better, you may have

• Ph.D. in chemical engineering, chemistry, materials science, engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Direct experience with battery materials, including cathode, anode, separator, or electrolyte, and/or battery recycling and recovered-material qualification.
• Experience evaluating supplier or recycler technical capabilities, manufacturing or recycling processes, material quality, or supply-chain costs.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to explain technical concepts to audiences at all levels of the organization.
• Excellent teamwork, communication, and relationship-building skills.
• Self-motivated, organized, and able to manage multiple tasks in a changing environment.

As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder…or all of the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:

• Immediate medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage
• Paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments and more
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• Generous vacation time, sick/personal time, and paid holidays, including between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day

Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's skills and experience, and base salary will be set within the applicable range according to job scope, responsibility and competitive market value.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.

This position is hybrid with a requirement to be onsite four or more days per week.