Director, Research

About Us

We are Sila, a next-generation battery materials company. Our mission is to power the world’s transition to clean energy. To create this future, our team is building a better lithium-ion battery from the inside out today. We engineer and manufacture ground-breaking battery materials that significantly increase the energy density of batteries, while reducing their size and weight. The result? Smaller more powerful batteries that can unlock innovation in consumer devices and accelerate the mass adoption of electric cars to eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels. We're tackling one of the biggest challenges of our time every day, and together we're redefining what's possible. Are you ready to be a part of a team committed to changing the world?

Who You Are

Are you a scientific leader committed to unlocking new frontiers in material technologies and enabling them to be deployed at scale? Are you passionate about building creative and resilient teams of scientists to take on challenges for massive global impact? Sila seeks a Research Director to galvanize and support our outstanding team of scientists as they invent the second generation of ground-breaking silicon anode materials for commercial deployment in the most advanced Li-ion batteries. You will be joining a committed management team and partner closely with the CTO as well as the Strategy, Product, and Commercialization teams to enable ground-breaking product innovations for quality-controlled manufacturing at the automotive scale. You are a critical thinker and ethical leader who believes that both science and commercialization success requires a collective effort, healthy debate, and diverse perspectives.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Lead a team of scientists in the discovery and exploration of the second generation of anode materials and their synthesis pathways for the development of Sila’s products at a multi-billion dollar scale.
• Build trusting relationships with other teams and leaders across Sila’s product development efforts to ensure timely commercialization success.
• Identify new scientific, process, characterization, and collaboration opportunities to strengthen the team and accelerate the time to market.
• Recruit, interview, hire, and onboard extraordinary new scientists to expand your team’s capacity, capabilities, and diversity; help to guide their career growth.
• Maintain processes, systems, and infrastructure that help the team function efficiently and ensure your team members have the resources they need to excel.
• Mentor your team to support and empower them through the ups and downs of bold, purposeful research; set clear performance expectations and deliver regular feedback.
• Champion an environment of psychological safety and accountability for the team to passionately engage in creative scientific risk-taking, healthy debate, and deeply collaborative work.

Knowledge and Skill Requirements

• Demonstrated experience of the invention or the development of a product that reached the market.
• Demonstrated experience of building and leading scientific teams to solve ambitious, complex research challenges in a mission-driven environment.
• Significant people management and team building experience with a team of 10+ Ph.D. and MS level scientists preferred.
• Demonstrated experience building lasting multidisciplinary collaborations that led to new insights, research outcomes, and organizational wins.
• Exceptional scientific experimentation and materials characterization abilities within your area of expertise.
• Demonstrated experience mentoring scientists, catalyzing their professional growth and career advancement.
• Ph. D. in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, or related fields.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions

• Pass a respirator fit test and be able to wear respiratory protection as needed
• Wear personal protective equipment including, but not limited to, a lab coat, gloves, safety glasses, and steel toe safety shoes
• Move long distances (such as from building to building) and be stationary for extended periods of time

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Working at Sila

We believe that building a diverse team at Sila helps us amplify our individual talents. We are an equal opportunity employer and committed to creating an inclusive environment where good ideas are free to come from anyone. We are proud to celebrate diversity and all qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, national origin, or any other status protected by law.