Principal Battery Design Engineer

Blue Current is a leader in the next wave of battery innovation. The company manufactures completely dry, safe and high-performance silicon elastic composite solid-state batteries to power the new energy economy including electric vehicles, grid storage and consumer electronics. Blue Current leads with science, data, and thoughtful IP across the full battery stack. We are hiring in all areas of battery design and manufacturing. Come build with us

Are you an experienced automotive battery design cell engineering leader? Have you taken new battery designs from R&D to large-scale production? Have you dreamt of being part of the shift to solid-state? Blue Current is an energy storage startup company focused on the next wave of innovation in the battery industry. We’ve developed a 100% dry, safe, and high-performance battery based on what we call “silicon elastic composite” technology. We are well-funded and connected across the supply chain and automotive industry.
 
What you’ll accomplish
You’ll drive the overall battery technology platform and test plan as we move from R&D to pilot and large-scale production. You will play a critical role in the design and development of cell pouches for advanced energy storage applications. This is a fast-paced hands-on leadership position with a team that has a shared passion to change the energy storage landscape.

Responsibilities include the following:

• Design and optimize cell pouches for energy storage applications, considering factors such as performance, safety, and manufacturability.
• Select and evaluate materials for cell pouch construction, ensuring compatibility with the application requirements.
• Develop and design prototypes and conduct testing to validate the design, making improvements as necessary.
• Lead the cell engineering design, development, and qualification for next generation solid-state pouch batteries
• Own the cell design plans, design-of-experiments, failure analysis and new development pathways toward building cell products for consumer devices and EV applications
• Drive product development initiatives and lead technical cell engineering projects for first multi amp-hour cell designs
• Define and own cell design specifications, and test procedures for product validation
• Partner with materials R&D and process engineering to select best formulations and
  SOPs to meet performance and scalability goals
• Drive quarterly cadence of updates and stage gate transitions
• Internalize system design concepts (thermals, cell to pack) and compliance
  requirements from customers
• Work with data analytics team to characterize and optimize performance
• Partner with manufacturing process engineering to ensure economics and scalability
  of design
• Own and ensure alignment on bill of materials with product requirements (BOM)

Your experience and qualifications

• Ph.D. or MS in chemistry, chemical or mechanical engineering, materials science, or
  related field.
• 5+ years work experience with pouch, prismatic or VDA compliant batteries for automotive and consumer applications; hands-on experience in scale-up/manufacturing environments preferred
• Proficiency in CAD software and simulation tools
• Strong understanding of lithium based cells, cell components and their interactions inside the cell
• Demonstrated experience on cell design,  characterization and failure mode identifications
• Experience assembling battery cells and developing new electrode and electrolyte formulations.
• Experience working with high-speed battery manufacturing systems
• Track record of driving cell development roadmaps and customer-facing deliverables
• Appreciation for and adherence to lab and work safety policies
• Positive, can-do attitude and experience coaching and inspiring team to overcome technical challenges
• Creative thinker with attention to detail
• Strong communication skills and experience sharing results with team members and leadership