Location: Austin,TX, USA
Battery cells are core to Tesla, and the 4680 cell is a particularly unique product merging numerous cutting-edge improvements in cell technology and manufacturing. Our product requirements demand ground-up cell architectures with state-of-the-art performance, manufactured at volumes that are orders of magnitude higher than the products they power. Tesla moves quickly, so being passionate and self-motivated to seek out and solve problems is critical. Our team works alongside engineering groups across various disciplines, requiring strong communication skills and a team-first mentality. You will work alongside seasoned industry experts, manufacturing technicians and operators, maintenance teams, supplier quality engineers, and everything in between.
We are seeking a highly motivated cell expert to join the Global Cell Quality team to interface with and support our manufacturing operations in Austin, TX. As someone with deep knowledge in what good looks like, you will be involved in any number of different activities from developing specifications, failure/root cause analysis, designing/conducting tests/trials, doing deep dives into manufacturing processes, and reviewing data. Willingness and passion to spend time on the factory floor and get your hands dirty is important. Excellent communication skills are critical as you will need to both deliver and receive highly technical information across multiple groups, many of whom are not cell experts (e.g. maintenance, facilities, logistics).
* Implement the technical definition for global Tesla 4680 Cell Manufacturing in the Austin, TX Gigafactory
* Be a critical technical interface between design, manufacturing engineering, supplier quality, and the factory
* Work with factory teams to drive/implement solutions on the manufacturing floor to include supporting/reviewing deviations, allowance criteria, and engineering trials
* Work with quality systems teams to ensure adoption of best practices across the 4680 network
* Conduct detailed risk assessments at the product and manufacturing level to identify opportunity and drive mitigation of risks and improve yield
* Interface with reliability engineering teams to implement findings from the field, lifetime testing, as well as abuse engineering
* Take a lead role in problem solving efforts when necessary
* Proven extensive expertise/experience with lithium-ion cells. This is likely to include at least 5 years but more likely 10+ years of experience dedicated in the field. Due to the breadth of this field, that could include any number of the following areas from an engineering and/or manufacturing perspective: Design (mechanical, chemical); Electrode; Cell Assembly (any format); Formation and Aging; Cell Test (qualification, reliability, abuse, etc.); and Failure Analysis
* Degree in a technical discipline or equivalent experience, with a commensurately advanced level of competency in science/engineering fundamentals
* Excellent verbal, written, and presentation communication skills and strong interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to communicate effectively across levels and functions
* Detail oriented, with the ability to effectively handle multiple priorities while meeting tight deadlines under pressure
* Additionally desired but not required experience: hands-on experience building cells; data analytical skills using multiple platforms and languages; experienced background in statistics; working understanding of Quality Systems fundamentals