Who You Are

As a Staff Process Engineer on Sila’s Technology team, you will be the lead Process Engineer responsible for commissioning and start-up of critical steps in Sila’s first industrial scale plant. You’ll also start working on the next generation technology after Sila’s first plant is running. You will be surrounded by some of the brightest minds in the world working on Silicon Anodes and will leverage this team to continually refine your understanding and convince yourself of the technical basis and constraints for the manufacturing plant design.

As a result, you will make recommendations and decisions that will impact the trajectory of the development of the technology forever. You are used to working efficiently in high pressure situations, such as chemical plant startups, new grade trials, or turnarounds, to deliver product on-spec and on-time. You also have the ability to do deep work and fruitfully think outside the box. You bring the experience of having seen dozens of different chemical plant technologies and have expert level competency in at least one chemical technology so you know what process engineering excellence looks like. You bring a collaborative and bias for action energy to the team. You have seamlessly worked with a chemical company’s R&D and Technology teams as well as the Manufacturing Engineering, Operations and Maintenance teams. Most importantly, you are comfortable working on new problems everyday, have an extreme-ownership mentality, and have a track record of pushing yourself and your team to be better every single day.

Responsibilities and Duties  

• Leading critical parts of commissioning and long-term projects for Sila’s Moses Lake facility
• Commission Sila’s manufacturing plant to produce next-generation battery materials
• Collaborate with all engineering disciplines, operations and others required for a chemical plant
• Expertly balance day-to-day priorities with long term deliverables
• Work seamlessly with internal teams and 3rd party vendors to drive technical deliverables
• Play a critical role in the long term vision and execution of production line improvements
• Create complex management of change requests and basis of design documents
• Drive design and control scheme modifications for large scale first-of-a-kind plant during startup
• Comfortable leading commissioning of a new process unit during startup, shutdowns or upsets
• Develop HMBs, P&IDs and other FEED deliverables starting at concept for the next gen plant
• Drive ideas through R&D, Material Dev, and Pilot Test Teams for at-scale implementation
• Influence others across the org and drive technical solutions without authority

Knowledge and Skill Requirements 

• B.S. or M.S. in Chemical Engineering 
• Minimum of 5 years of experience directly owning a high volume production line or in a design-to-commissioning role for a chemical plant
• Ability to visualize in great detail and have a first-principles understanding of an operating plant
• Experience with process design of new chemical plant units or retrofits of existing units
• Deep knowledge of basic controls schemes and familiarity with advanced control strategies
• Extensive experience with daily and long-term process optimization and production constraints
• Experience with safety critical instrumentation, safety relief, and operational alarms
• Extensive risk management, management of change and HAZOP experience
• Years of experience creating, reading and editing PFDs, P&IDs, and Operating Procedures
• Ability to determine and solve for key parameters for process scale-up to commercial volumes
• Have developed dozens of basis of design and project scope document for new ideas or MOCs
• Have a bias for action and extreme ownership mentality while exhibiting humility and frugality
• Ability to challenge your teammates, raise them up, and be vocally self-critical
• Track record of relentlessly challenging accepted practices and inefficiencies
• Excellent communication skills enabling you to be the cliff note author and the technical expert
• Have demonstrated ruthless prioritization in high stress situations over long periods of time
• A career of never missing an opportunity to build rapport with your co-workers

Physical Demands and Working Conditions

Location: Alameda, CA or Moses Lake, WA

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position to operate a computer and other office productivity machinery, such as a laptop, copier/printer machine, etc.
• Wear personal protective equipment including, but not limited to, a hard hat, lab coat or coveralls, gloves, safety glasses, and safety shoes
• Pass a respirator fit test and be able to wear respiratory protection on a periodic basis
• Move long distances and occasionally kneel or bend
• Significant travel required during commissioning
• Up to 10% travel normally for work at new production sites and 3rd party design offices

 

The starting base pay for this role is between $151,000- and $195,000 at the time of posting. The actual base pay depends on many factors, such as education, experience, and skills. Base pay is only one part of Sila’s competitive Total Rewards package that can include benefits, perks, equity, and bonuses.  The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future.

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