Staff Battery Scientist (Cathode)

About Blue Current

Blue Current is a manufacturer of Solid-state batteries based in Hayward, California. The company strives to provide engineers and designers with the highest performance and safest battery storage for the future energy economy including electric vehicles, consumer, medical and IoT devices. Blue Current leads with science, data and thoughtful IP across the full battery solution stack. Our team is diverse with deep research, implementation, and go-to-market experience. Our facility is located on San Francisco Bay with thousands of acres of wildlife preserve and miles of trails for recreation.

Summary

Are you an experienced electrochemist? Have you worked in the battery, fuel cell, solar, semiconductor, or other electronic materials industry? Are you hungry for a role where you will have an immediate impact across the company and in the industry? Have you dreamt of being part of the shift to solid-state battery technology? Batteries are the single most critical part of the new energy economy for EVs, grid storage, consumer and IoT. Blue Current has developed a solid-state battery solution that exceeds the best batteries in the industry. The company is well funded and has a deep IP portfolio with dozens of patents granted and pending. Now we need you to drive the next level of innovation in our cell development.

Description

As a Staff Battery Scientist, you will be focused on developing new solid state electrode materials with a specific focus on Blue Current's composite cathode technology. A background in materials science, chemical engineering, chemistry, physics, or a related field is preferred. Additional experience in electrochemistry of lithium-ion battery is required. This position will offer hands-on, fast-paced work on a growing team that has a shared passion to change the energy storage landscape.

Responsibilities

• Develop and test composite solid state cathode materials and formulations that improve cell performance and safety.
• Optimize and engineer composite solid-state cathodes based on a strong understanding of how that cathode interacts with the solid electrolyte.
• Identify failure modes of a solid-state cathode.
• Assemble solid state cells and perform electrochemical testing to analyze the impact of cathode active materials and electrode composition on cell performance.
• Characterize cell materials using various analytical (e.g. SEM, XRD, TGA, etc.) and electrochemical (e.g. EIS and CV) techniques.
• Analyze electrochemical testing and analytical characterization results to understand the impact of cathode material properties on cell performance.
• Document and analyze experimental results. Present and share results with team members.
• Develop and submit intellectual property.
  
  

Requirements

• PhD/MS in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, or similar field with a focus on batteries, capacitors, fuel cells, or other electrochemical devices
• Track record of publishing peer-reviewed journal articles
• Experience testing lithium-ion battery materials, with a strong understanding of lithium based cells, cell components and their interactions inside the cell
• 2+ years of experience working at a battery manufacturer or R&D company is highly preferred
• Experience with electrochemical tests such as EIS, GITT, HPPC, CV, and others
• Familiarity and experience working with analytical tools such as SEM, XRD, TGA, FTIR, DSC, and TGA
• Creative thinker with attention to detail
• Strong communication skills and experience sharing results with team members and leadership
• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills and experience working with team members to overcome technical challenges
• Appreciation for and adherence to lab and work safety policies
  
  

Blue Current is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and embraces diversity. We believe that our team is strengthened through hiring and retaining employees with diverse backgrounds, skill sets, ideas, and perspectives. We make hiring decisions based on merit and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex or gender (including pregnancy) gender identity or expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, age, marital, veteran, disability status or any other protected category in accordance with applicable law.