Ceramics Engineer jobs in Austin, TX

Energy Exploration Technologies has a mission to become a worldwide leader in the global transition to sustainable energy. Founded in 2018, the company is fundamentally changing the way humanity is powering our world and storing clean energy with breakthrough lithium-ion technology and energy storage solutions.

Job Description

Senior Ceramics Process Engineer will lead the efforts to translate EnergyX’s advances in lithium metal production and next generation lithium battery chemistries from coin cell to large format scale leading to commercialization. The role will entail leading a project on ceramic membrane development and evaluation for a variety of applications aligned with EnergyX technology innovation goals as well as in assisting the EnergyX battery research and development team. This role has the opportunity to develop into a high-level leadership position in the company transitioning technology from lab-scale testing into a commercial process/product.

Responsibilities

Work on a team of experienced EnergyX scientists in research and development focused on disruptive materials, processes, and engineering systems to fundamentally transform scientific aspects of the energy industry including:

• Assist in development and scaleup of novel direct brine to lithium metal process and brine to “anode-ready” lithium metal process.
• Lead development of novel ceramic membranes compositions and architecture at the lab scale.
• Test, improve and optimize ceramic membrane characteristics, performance, and stability for all-solid-state batteries and direct lithium metal extraction technology.
• Ensure scalability of laboratory techniques used for battery fabrication and testing.
• Provide technical direction and work assignment to 3rd party designers, technicians, and others, as required for various projects.
• Assist with EnergyX business and technology development.
• Assess competitive technologies and their applications.
• Due to the specialized nature of this role, it will require being on-call for periods of time.

Basic Qualifications

• Science or Engineering degree from an accredited college or university. M.S., Ph.D. degrees preferred. Fields of study – Inorganic or Solid-State Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Material Science and Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related fields.
• In-depth understanding of ceramic materials, their synthesis, and their processing.
• In-depth understanding of ceramic powder processing.
• Expertise in lithium secondary batteries and related chemistries.
• Experience with building and leading multidisciplinary teams of research scientists and engineers.
• Experienced with project development, management, and delivery.

Additional Requirements

• Minimum of 2 years of industrial research and development experience.
• Knowledge of liquid electrolytes for lithium metal batteries.
• Knowledge of lithium metal surface chemistry.
• Understanding of techniques applicable for lithium extraction, separation, recovery, and refining.
• Understanding of lithium metal fabrication and processing.
• Ability to work in a fast paced, startup environment.
• Conducting engineering calculations, mass and energy balances, process modeling and process equipment design.
• Effective communication skills as related to the board, partners, and investors including presentation skills at meetings and conferences.

EnergyX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with EnergyX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.