Director of Manufacturing Engineering

• 12500 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA

Ion Storage Systems is scaling its solid-state battery manufacturing from a low-throughput prototype line to a high-volume automated production line - a >100x increase in throughput. We're looking for a Director of Manufacturing Engineering to lead this transformation, with the primary mandate being equipment and automation: designing, specifying, and integrating the automated systems that will carry us from prototype to high-volume production.

Process engineering support is part of the role, but the center of gravity is machine design, controls, robotics, and line architecture - not process/yield work.

This is not a role for someone who only optimizes an existing process, or who has only ever integrated a single automation cell in isolation. We need a leader who has designed and built the automated equipment and line architecture behind a major scale-up before - from pilot volumes to high-volume, automated production - ideally in battery, semiconductor, MEMS, or another precision manufacturing environment.

• Own the equipment and automation roadmap to take our prototype line to >100x throughput: line architecture, automated material handling, robotics, in-line metrology/inspection, and process control systems.
• Lead line design and layout from an equipment-first perspective - bottleneck/constraint analysis, line balancing, and capacity modeling driven by machine and station design.
• Direct the design, specification, and build/integration of automation systems, partnering closely with equipment vendors and integrators, and building custom equipment in-house where it makes sense.
• Own capital equipment planning: build-vs-buy decisions, vendor selection, equipment budgets, and project timelines
• Establish the controls, in-line inspection, and equipment-level metrics needed to run a high-volume automated line reliably and continuously (OEE, uptime, in-line inspection, traceability).
• Build and lead a team weighted toward automation, controls, and equipment engineers, with process engineering support embedded.
• Partner with cell and metrology engineers to ensure equipment designs accommodate cell process requirements

• 10+ years in automation/equipment/manufacturing engineering, with at least one prior experience designing and building the automated equipment behind a major scale-up (pilot/prototype → high-volume automated production) - this is the single most important qualifier.
• Deep, hands-on experience in automation and equipment engineering: machine design, robotics, controls (PLC/motion/vision systems), in-line metrology/inspection, and line integration.
• Experience leading and successfully executing multiple projects in parallel, through all phases of design, from early concept through validation and handoff.
• Demonstrated excellence at building and leading teams. Experience managing team members to emphasize their strengths and support their professional development.
• Strong systems-level thinking: comfortable with capacity/throughput modeling, constraint analysis, and translating that into a concrete roadmap.
• B.Eng. M.Eng,
  
  B.Sc. M.Sc. in Mechanical, Electrical/Controls, Chemical, or Materials Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related discipline.

Background in battery, semiconductor, MEMS, or another precision, high-throughput manufacturing industry strongly preferred

Department:
Cell Engineering

Reports To:

SVP Cell Engineering

• Medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance
• Stock options with significant upside as the company scales towards a public offering
• Hybrid - in-person preferred at our Beltsville, MD headquarters
• Company and floating holidays
• 17 days of PTO to start, with increase upon tenure
• 401k plan with a 4% company match beginning after first paycheck
• Wellness allowance of $1k annually

Ion Storage Systems Inc., located in Beltsville, MD, is a rapidly growing company commercializing its breakthrough lithium metal battery technology based on…