Cell Development Manager

Department: Cell Development
Position: Cell Development Manager
Location: Chico, California
Pay Range: $150,000 – $195,000 per year

Leads the development, qualification, and manufacturing transfer of advanced cylindrical lithium-ion cells at Nanotech Energy’s NERD and NEMO facilities. The role converts approved customer and application needs into controlled cell specifications, prototype plans, design verification and validation programs, qualified processes, and production-ready technical packages. This manager leads the Cell Development engineering team and works closely with Program Management, Cell Build, Process Engineering, Quality, Formation, and Testing.

Material selection, cell design, and formulation decisions remain with the designated technical authorities.

Full-time employees are eligible to participate in the Company’s 401(k) plan and medical plan, and to receive other benefits in accordance with Company policies. A summary of our current benefits is below.

• Paid Time Off (PTO): PTO accrues from your first day of employment
• Holiday Pay: 10 paid holidays per year, designated by the Company
• 401(k):
  Participation in the Company’s 401(k) plan
• Medical:
  The Company pays up to $500 per month toward medical coverage for employees and their dependents.
• Dental:
  Premiums are paid in full by the employee.

• Translate approved customer, safety, regulatory, and performance requirements into cell specifications, technical targets, build plans, and acceptance criteria.
• Lead cylindrical-cell prototype builds, engineering trials, DOE, NPI, qualification, design verification and validation, and manufacturing transfer.
• Develop and maintain controlled BOMs, drawings, technical instructions, configuration records, change documentation, and PLEX MES technical records.
• Define process requirements and operating windows; support equipment requirements, FAT/SAT, commissioning, debugging, and capability demonstrations.
• Direct technical execution on the manufacturing floor, evaluate deviations and manufacturability risks, and lead post-build engineering reviews.
• Own validation strategies, test matrices, sample requirements, data interpretation, technical reports, and coordination with the Cell Testing Manager.
• Lead root-cause and failure investigations using electrochemical diagnostics, dimensional analysis, teardown, imaging, and other approved methods.
• Deliver complete stage-gate transfer packages, including approved specifications, work instructions, PFMEAs, control plans, training, and qualification evidence.
• Plan work, assign priorities, coach engineers, review technical outputs, and communicate risks, decisions, resources, and progress to leadership and customers.

• Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, materials science, electrochemistry, chemistry, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, or a related field; an advanced degree is preferred.
• Seven or more years of lithium-ion cell development, battery engineering, or closely related experience, including at least three years leading engineers, technical personnel, or complex development programs.
• Direct experience designing, developing, building, qualifying, and transferring cylindrical lithium-ion cells is strongly preferred.
• Experience converting customer requirements into specifications, build plans, validation programs, controlled documentation, and production-ready processes.
• Strong working knowledge of DOE, DFMEA/PFMEA, root-cause and failure analysis, CAPA/8D, process capability, configuration control, qualification, and manufacturing transfer.
• An equivalent combination of education, specialized technical training, and directly relevant experience may be considered.

Equal Employment…