Manufacturing Engineer, Cathode
What to Expect Tesla's Cathode Advanced Manufacturing Engineering group is looking for a highly motivated Manufacturing Engineer to work on a critical challenge facing the world's energy transition – battery cathode materials. This includes the scale-up of novel, high-energy, low-cost cathode materials and the steady state operation of first-of-a-kind cathode manufacturing processes that shorten the path from mine to battery cell. This is one of the most critical chemical engineering challenges of our time, and success will unlock a diversified green energy ecosystem.
As a Manufacturing Engineer, you will own the performance and continuous improvement of assigned manufacturing systems, integrating process, equipment, reliability, maintenance, controls, quality, and operations considerations. You will work directly with Operations and cross-functional teams to troubleshoot complex problems, eliminate recurring losses, develop and improve equipment and processes, and maximize safe, sustainable performance across equipment availability, throughput, yield, quality, and cost. You will also support the scale-up, installation, integration, commissioning, and ramp of new manufacturing equipment and processes from concept through steady state production.
What You'll Do Own the technical performance and continuous improvement of assigned manufacturing systems across safety, quality, throughput, equipment availability, reliability, maintainability, and cost
Develop and maintain operating strategies, procedures, safety protocols, maintenance strategies, and equipment lifecycle plans for commercial scale manufacturing systems
Optimize manufacturing system operation to maximize consistent process flow, equipment availability and product quality
Develop and optimize equipment reliability strategies, including preventive and predictive maintenance, failure elimination, critical spares, and equipment performance monitoring
Lead root-cause investigations of process upsets, equipment failures, quality excursions, and safety incidents; develop and drive corrective actions to closure to eliminate recurrence
Identify and eliminate chronic manufacturing losses through engineered solutions that improve equipment reliability, maintainability, process capability, and operational effectiveness
Develop and utilize sustainable monitoring, data acquisition, and visualization systems to identify losses, prioritize improvement opportunities, and drive manufacturing performance
Initiate, develop, and lead the implementation of process and equipment improvement projects in partnership with Operations, Maintenance, controls, Process Design, Equipment Suppliers, and other cross-functional teams
Train, coach, and develop operator staff to ensure fidelity to established standards and encourage individual ownership towards reaching overall team goals
Collaborate with R&D and Process Development teams to develop, execute, and scale manufacturing trials that improve product quality and process capability
What You'll Bring Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience in Mechanical Engineering
Evidence of exceptional ability, including a strong understanding of engineering fundamentals and demonstrated ability to leverage this understanding to solve challenging technical problems
Experience working in industrial manufacturing or production environments with demonstrated ownership of process, equipment, or manufacturing system performance
Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex process and/or equipment problems, identify failure mechanisms and root causes, and develop sustainable corrective actions
Experience using manufacturing data and performance metrics to identify losses, prioritize opportunities, and drive measurable improvements in safety, quality, throughput, availability, or reliability
Demonstrated ability to lead technical improvements and work effectively across Operations, Maintenance, Controls, Quality, and other engineering functions
Experience working in high-volume, high-purity, or complex manufacturing environments, such as chemicals, oil & gas/hydrocarbons, specialty chemicals, semiconductor, pharmaceuticals, battery materials, or similar industries
Experience with industrial equipment reliability and maintenance practices, including preventive/predictive maintenance, condition monitoring, failure analysis, critical spares strategy, and reliability performance metrics
Experience troubleshooting and improving mechanical equipment and automated manufacturing systems, including rotating equipment, material handling equipment, conveying systems, valves, actuators, pneumatics, robotics, or other production equipment
Experience with bulk solids handling and powder processing systems, including powder blending, powder/spray coating, crushing/milling, mechanical sorting/sieving/separation, feeding, mixing, and dilute or dense-phase pneumatic conveying
Benefits
Along with competitive pay, as a full-time Tesla employee, you are eligible for the following benefits at day 1 of hire:
Medical plans > plan options with $0 payroll deduction
Family-building, fertility, adoption and surrogacy benefits
Dental (including orthodontic coverage) and vision plans, both have options with a $0 paycheck contribution
Company Paid (Health Savings Accounts) HSA Contribution when enrolled in the High-Deductible medical plan with HSA
Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
401(k) with employer match, Employee Stock Purchase Plans, and other financial benefits
Company paid Basic Life, AD&D
Short-term and long-term disability insurance (90 day waiting period)
Employee Assistance Program
Sick and Vacation time (Flex time for salary positions, Accrued hours for Hourly positions), and Paid Holidays
Back-up childcare and parenting support resources
Voluntary benefits to include: critical illness, hospital indemnity, accident insurance, theft & legal services, and pet insurance
Weight Loss and Tobacco Cessation Programs
Tesla Babies program
Commuter benefits
Employee discounts and perks program
Earned Wage Access: Real-time pay access paid daily, subject to eligibility and schedule (applicable for below Sr. Managers levels)
Tesla is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer committed to diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, gender identity or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.
Tesla is also committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. Please let your recruiter know if you need an accommodation at any point during the interview process.