Cowboyspace
Sr. Battery Engineer
San Carlos, California · Senior
Work authorization required$91k-$710kDetected 13 hours ago
PythonMATLABThermal AnalysisAvionicsMechanical DesignElectrical EngineeringPower ElectronicsCOMSOLSimulink
About the role
- This is a hands-on individual contributor role for an engineer who enjoys taking battery systems from concept through flight.
Responsibilities
- Own the architecture and development of spacecraft batteries from concept through flight qualification
- Design battery packs, module architectures, and electrical interconnects (e.g., laser welding, wire bonding, busbar design) to meet mission performance requirements, including series/parallel cell configuration trade-offs
- Perform battery sizing, capacity analysis, degradation modeling (capacity fade, impedance growth), depth-of-discharge (DoD) management for cycle life targets, and lifecycle assessments
- Develop battery charging and discharge strategies in partnership with the spacecraft power systems team, including coordination with solar array power management (MPPT vs. direct energy transfer) and peak-load discharge current limiting
- Define thermal management requirements and collaborate with thermal engineers to ensure safe battery operation, including thermal runaway propagation mitigation (cell-to-cell spacing, thermal barriers, venting design) and cold-survival heater strategy
- Lead battery integration, validation, environmental qualification, and acceptance testing, including vibration/shock (per GEVS/NASA-STD-7001 or ECSS equivalents), thermal vacuum cycling (TVAC), vacuum outgassing (ASTM E595), and abuse testing (overcharge, short circuit, crush, penetration, thermal abuse)
- Support manufacturing, supplier selection, DFM/DFT reviews, cell matching/sorting processes, weld quality inspection (including X-ray/CT inspection for internal defects), and production readiness
- Support spacecraft integration, launch campaigns, and on-orbit battery performance monitoring and trending
- 3+ years developing battery systems for aerospace, automotive, defense, or other high-reliability applications
Requirements
- Knowledge of lithium-ion battery chemistry (NMC, NCA, LFP), degradation mechanisms, and safety considerations
- Experience with battery testing, characterization, and validation, including cycle life testing, performance characterization across temperature, and abuse/safety testing
- Familiarity with battery modeling (equivalent circuit models or electrochemical models), lifecycle analysis, and performance prediction
Nice to have
- Experience with radiation effects on battery systems and space-qualified components
- Experience with battery thermal modeling and thermal runaway mitigation, including coupled thermal-electrochemical simulation (e.g., COMSOL)
- Experience supporting vibration, shock, thermal vacuum, and environmental testing campaigns
- Experience with battery safety analysis including FMEA, fault tree analysis (FTA), and hazard assessments, along with familiarity with abuse/safety test standards (UN 38.3, IEC 62133, UL 1642/2054)
- Familiarity with MATLAB/Simulink, Python, or equivalent tools for battery modeling, SOC/SOH algorithm development, and analysis
- Experience with isolated cell monitoring architectures and BMS IC platforms (e.g., isoSPI daisy-chain architectures common in EV/aerospace battery stacks)
- 10 paid holidays per calendar year
- Relocation assistance if applicable
Compensation
- Compensation and Benefits
Visa & Work Authorization
- Export Control Requirement: To conform to U
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