Machine Design & Instrumentation Engineer

WHO YOU ARE

You’re a multidisciplinary, hands-on engineer who thrives on pursuing technical truth. You’re energized by devising new methods of observing and measuring subtle physical phenomena. You know what a reliable signal looks like and you know how to find one in a noisy system. You have strong multidisciplinary engineering intuition, which will be indispensable in this role: you’ll be addressing the interrelated chemical, electrical, and mechanical phenomena in batteries. Microns matter in our field, so experience in precision assembly design will also be critical. Your technical background will help you understand how to untangle complex problems, collaborate successfully with electrochemists & battery engineers, and solve the unique problems of bringing new battery materials to market. You’re reliable and pragmatic; you deliver projects on time. You know what it means for others to rely on your work, so you are thorough and bring a daily sense of urgency to your projects.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES 

• Design and build new hardware (and the software that enables it) for battery fabrication, characterization, and support for commercial deployment. This will include precision fixtures, measurement devices, fully automated production tools, and infrastructure systems. Your work will encompass both mechanical and electrical design.
• Support Sila’s battery engineering and operations efforts, including adding functionality to existing hardware and diagnosing/fixing problems when they arise. Apply your knowledge of best practices from outside Sila to improve our in-house capabilities. Find and eliminate sources of drift and uncertainty.
• Deliver completed projects on time and within spec, down to the smallest detail, whether performed internally or by a managed contractor. 
• Organize, document, communicate. Create enduring records of your work. Ensure successful handoff to end-users of your work with clearly-defined commissioning procedures and tests.
• Automate processes that are currently manual. This will require defining functional specifications, developing or contracting out automation hardware & software, specifying instrumentation, commissioning what you designed, and handing it off to operations.
• Commission vendor-provided systems, including: working with vendors to ensure that technical specs are being met, coordinating installation with tradespeople, and ensuring a smooth handoff to Sila’s in-house operations team.
• Be a force for determinism and robustness in a tight feedback loop with the engineers and scientists you work with on a daily basis. Solve problems by identifying root causes and deploy solutions the whole team can believe in.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS

• BS in engineering or physics and at least 5 years of work experience (or fewer for candidates with an advanced degree). 
• Proficiency in mechanical design and CAD software (SolidWorks preferred). Experience with precision mechanism design and GD&T. Proficiency in documenting designs for fabrication by outside vendors.
• Programming experience (C, Python, .NET, or PLC programming preferred).
• Knowledge of AC and DC power fundamentals, sensor/signal troubleshooting, and field wiring best practices. (Experience with AutoCAD electrical or SolidWorks electrical is nice to have.)
• Comfortable with technical ambiguity, substantial individual autonomy, and seeking information and buy-in from the right people in the organization.
• Experience with complex, multidisciplinary technical systems (for instance: interconnected electronic, mechanical, pneumatic, and hydraulic systems).
• Diplomacy, great communication skills (written and verbal), and the ability to surface problems constructively.
• Experience in fields involving electrical device characterization, roll-to-roll hardware, coating, and metrology are nice to have.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING CONDITIONS

• Pass a respirator fit test and be able to wear respiratory protection on a periodic basis
• Wear personal protective equipment including, but not limited to, a lab coat, gloves, safety glasses, and steel toe safety shoes
• Move items up to 50 lbs with the assistance of lift equipment and carts
• Move long distances (such as from building to building)
• Can travel both domestically and internationally up to 25% of the time