Head of Factory Engineering

Role and Responsibilities

Bringing up a new factory in the US is an exciting opportunity.  This role will collaborate closely with a team that has established a pilot line in the UK and has extensive experience in the field of sodium metal chloride batteries. This is a once-in-a-career opportunity to scale a technology backed by 40+ years of research in order to shape the electrical grid of tomorrow.

This position will report to the Head of Operations and be in the Bay Area at our Headquarters in San Leandro.  We are in the midst of finding our first factory within the western part of the US.  As such, there will be travel required.

Key responsibilities include:

• Equipment selection (eg. kilns, semi-automation, automation, chemical hoppers, cyclers, laser welders) and commissioning for a 300K square foot facility.  This includes a solid RFQ process focused on cost, quality and safety.
• Hiring of a team of talented engineers to bring this factory to fruition.
• Process development.
• Use of KPIs such as yield, takt time and volumes to ensure high equipment uptime and product quality
• After this first factory is built and yielding a high quality product, there will be an opportunity to expand these strategies for follow-on factories and products.

Minimum Requirements

• Engineering degree with 10+ years experience in management
• Proven background bringing up large scale manufacturing facilities.  Factory will have manual, semi-automated and automated equipment but also kilns and chemical hoppers.
• Has hired and built effective teams 
• Deep understanding and applied experience in Lean Manufacturing, PFMEA strategies, automated factories and equipment (SCADA, MES/ERP integration, AI for manufacturing).  
• Desire to use/create leading edge systems and strategies like AI, vision systems, digital twins, smart sensors, IOT, edge computing, predictive maintenance, energy optimization, decarbonized heat systems
• Thrives in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments
• Financially savvy with the ability to justify an ROI
• Effective communicator.  Partner with R&D to scale from lab to factory-ready processes with robust quality control.  Collaborating with the facilities team for specialized environments.
• Ability to travel to our UK site and factory site(s) as needed
• Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to thrive in a dynamic start-up environment
• A good listener with integrity and humility. A champion of our Practices of Safety, Determination, Teamwork, Humility and Joy.

Preferred Requirements

• Experience in multiple manufacturing processes and technologies including ceramic pressing and firing, automated battery cell and module assembly, and large scale automation
• Experience with GMP, ISO 9001/14001
• Experience with sustainability and waste handling
• PLM management know-how, including protecting/creating manufacturing IP

Benefits

• Incentive stock options based on Bay Area comps regardless of location
• Medical, vision, and dental insurance and short term disability (100% of employee’s insurance premium and 75% of dependants)
• 40 hours of paid sick time
• Hybrid commute option for Bay Area employees
• Unlimited PTO policy
• Compensation range for Bay Area: $190k-$250K depending on qualifications, location, and experience

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive community. We encourage you to apply even if you do not meet all of the qualifications.