Senior Battery Design Engineer (ePowertrain)
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO / POWERTRAIN / ON-SITE
At Elroy Air, we build autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) cargo aircraft systems to change the way the world moves goods. Transporting cargo by air is faster and more efficient than by land or sea, but before recent technological and regulatory developments, it was prohibitively expensive. Today, we’re able to expand middle-mile logistics possibilities across multiple sectors. The commercial express shipping industry spends $140B annually on the middle-mile and needs faster, better solutions – while the armed forces are increasingly prioritizing unmanned aerial cargo delivery systems.
These partners and customers are already responding enthusiastically to the technologies we are pioneering. As we develop and deploy these systems, we are looking for people like you: motivated collaborators, excited by our mission and by the rare opportunity to improve how logistics works around the world. You will play an important role in establishing Elroy Air as the industry standard in this massive market.
Diverse perspectives at all levels are critical to innovation and employee development. We encourage our team to bring their whole selves to Elroy. This includes but is not limited to gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender expression, religion, age, ability, parenthood status, veteran status, educational background, citizenship status, or any combination of these characteristics.
The Senior Battery Design Engineer’s primary responsibility will be product design & development of aircraft battery packs, including product specification at the development level. You will be expected to work across the full life cycle of the product, from conceptual design through the start of production. Based on the system-level performance requirement, you will be expected to develop the comprehensive subsystem and component level requirements, ensuring qualification and validation of the design, provide tested technology to production teams ready for high-volume manufacturing, work alongside production and quality teams to ensure that scaled up products meet required specifications, while addressing inadequate product performance if necessary.
You should be familiar with the construction and manufacturing processes of lithium-based batteries, and have successfully worked on various battery design configurations from conceptual design through production. You will also interface with the program management team to assist with schedule development and engineering project management.
We envision this role as a full-time position in our San Francisco office, with some remote work/work-from-home flexibility. Some travel will be required including but not limited to visits to flight test locations and critical vendor visits.
What You’ll Own:
- Battery module and pack design for the Chaparral aircraft program
- Work with powertrain engineers on the design, construction, operation, and disassembly of battery prototypes from concept through production
- Analyze the performance of batteries at various scales using electrochemical techniques including cell cycling, cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and other relevant techniques
- Design and perform experiments to study factors affecting battery module performance, such as material selection, welding, and packaging, and provide solutions for improvement
- Product development system operations and failure analysis including FMEAs
- Balance resources and cross-functional objectives in a fast-paced environment
- Prepare and present progress reports to the rest of the team and engage in discussions to support the team’s technical objectives
- Train, guide, and define tasks for technicians and interns to facilitate a high standard work
- Project management including project conceptualization, execution, and reporting
- Process improvement including product development system operations, development and characterization of new processes, and improvement of existing processes in order to improve battery performance
- Generate innovative designs while taking into consideration SPC and DFM
- Generate dimensional and tolerance analyses
- Conduct design reviews and drive file release processes
- Assist the development of manufacturing processes and fixturing which may include some travelling to suppliers for support
Our Ideal Candidate:
- BS or MS Chemical, Electrochemical, or Material Sciences
- 5+ years experience in hands-on EV lithium-ion rechargeable battery mechanical and thermal design, build, and development in a post-academic, industry setting
- Experience with 3D CAD Tools such as Siemens NX, Solidworks, etc.
- Experience in 3D FEA simulations using Ansys or COMSOL in support of component optimization studies
- Demonstrated knowledge of cell and battery testing methodologies
- Advanced understanding of DOE, GD&T, SPC, or CP/CPK techniques for the concept, design, and process validation stages of the product life cycle
- Proven track record of incorporating or utilizing design for manufacturability (DFM) or design for assembly (DFA)
- Experience with various manufacturing and prototyping processes, including injection molding, jigs/tooling/fixtures, cell welding, or other processes with tight tolerances
- Strong background in the design and development of precision parts
- Demonstrated organizational skills and attention to detail
- The ability to communicate efficiently with cross functional team members as well as efficiently collaborate to achieve project goals
- Strong communication skills, both oral and written
- Good skills and knowledge of facilitation, situational awareness, conflict resolution, continual improvement, empowerment, and increasing transparency
- Strong organizational and project management skills
- Failure analysis (FMEA), including validation testing, and root cause analysis
- Excellent laboratory practices, record keeping, and report writing
- Proactive self-starter, capable of multitasking along with the ability to excel in a small company environment
Bonus Points For:
- Knowledge in 6-sigma design concepts
- Battery module and pack assembly experience
- Experience with Flex PCB design, material science, and basic chemistry
- Experience with JIRA for project management
- Experience with JAMA for requirements management
- Experience in the design, testing, assembly and qualification of VTOL aircraft, electric aircraft propulsion systems, and hybrid powertrain systems
Elroy Air’s compensation package includes a competitive market salary, equity for all full-time roles, and great benefits. If you are located in the San Francisco Bay Area, our expected cash compensation for this role is $160,000 – $240,000. We are hiring for multiple levels and backgrounds so final offers may vary from the amounts listed based on experience, expertise, and other factors.
We encourage you to apply even if you aren’t an exact match for our open role as many of our team members come from nontraditional backgrounds.
All employees will be screened through E-Verify.
This position will require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws and regulations, including Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Please note that any offer for employment will be conditioned on any required authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these U.S. export control laws and regulations necessary to perform the responsibilities of the position.
