Sr. Battery Scientist

Job Title:Sr. Battery Scientist
Location: San Diego, CA – Bay Park area
Position Type: Full-time
Experience Level: PhD plus at least 2 years relevant industry experience
Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, 401k, paid vacation, and a great team environment

Work with a team on various projects from target development, design of experiments, to testing on a wide range of electrochemical storage technologies based on South 8’s novel Liquefied Gas Electrolyte. Emphasis on electrolyte formulation development for various electrodes and chemistries. Creative problem solving, excellent attention to detail, and fundamental working knowledge of battery materials are required. This role will also require some project management and reporting duties for various customer and government programs.

Become a critical member of our fast-growing team working to develop a breakthrough battery technology to change the way batteries are made and used worldwide to advance a clean energy future. In this position, you will be a key part of our core team, at the forefront of taking next-generation chemistries and packaging them into advanced battery cells.

We are looking for a thoughtful and creative Senior Battery Scientist, with strong hands-on experience and excellent attention to detail to join our team in the Bay Park area of San Diego, CA. The ideal candidate would be given a target and independently design research plans and work with a team to perform experiments, analyze data, and recommend new pathways. This role will involve developing detailed understanding of the relationships between material properties, cell design, and electrochemical parameters to deliver high performance and safe next-generation batteries.

The role will require close collaboration with the technical team in addition to external partners and customers on project management and reporting. This is an incredibly exciting, dynamic work environment with several parallel projects with various timelines.

Candidates should have strong working knowledge of and extensive laboratory experience in advanced materials and chemistries for lithium batteries including experience in electrolyte design, anode and cathode-electrolyte interfaces, cell fabrication, cycling protocols and analysis, and data archiving. Knowledge of battery cell assembly, manufacturing systems, and gas flow systems, program management is also highly desired.

• Work with a team to develop, characterize, and deploy new generations of Liquefied Gas Electrolytes
• Sourcing, characterizing, and evaluating materials from various suppliers
• Building and evaluating coin and cylindrical cells including materials characterization, electrochemical testing, and failure analysis
• Compiling technical report summaries for leadership and customer/partner reporting
• Guide and mentor junior staff on battery concepts and development
• Support Product Development and Production as needed to fully transition research efforts to a commercial product.
• Effectively communicate ideas, concepts, designs, and results with the team
• Contribute to technical writing of grants, patents, and reports
• Work independently and efficiently to reach goals with target timelines
• Other tasks deemed necessary by the company
• Deliver epic High Fives

• Ph.D. in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, or related discipline plus 2+ years’ experience in the battery industry
• Deep working knowledge of battery cell construction and electrochemical testing techniques, including familiarity with Arbin/Maccor/Bio-Logic test equipment, EIS, CV, etc.
• Experience in managing projects and general technical reporting duties
• Ability to lead a team to achieve research and development goals
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize, multi-task, and succeed in an environment with competing demands
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Basic machining (ex. drill press, sanding)
• Ability to lift 35 lbs
• An aptitude for learning new things and a keen eye for improving processes

At the time of posting, the expected starting salary range for this role is $117,500 – $162,976 annually. The actual pay…