Job Opening: Mechanical Design Engineer

Sparkz Inc., is looking to hire a Mechanical Design Engineer at their Livermore, California location. Posted May 22, 2023.

Job Description

Sparkz is looking for a skilled and dedicated Mechanical Design Engineer to help take battery manufacturing to the next level. You will be essential in contributing to the engineering effort to develop systems and methods across the manufacturing enterprise. This is a critical position in our organization; while interfacing with other members of the engineering organization, you will help to define and implement engineering solutions that will improve products, processes, and equipment.  

 

Duties and Responsibilities

  • Support the design/engineering effort using stakeholder, client, and project team inputs and continuously strive to improve quality, safety, or efficiency while protecting the technological know-how and competitive advantage. 
  • Assist with the development and integration of new design and manufacturing techniques. Apply state-of-the-art industry technologies to develop new or improved processes and procedures. 
  • Partner with Product Design & Development and contributes to developing manufacturing documentation, including test methods, final product specifications, SOPs, etc. 
  • The position requires strong communication, teamwork, initiative, integrity, and attention to detail. Ability to assess and translate complex issues into cohesive, actionable components and communicate at multiple levels across several functions. 
  • Assists with developing tests and tools to validate and verify systems and components meet requirements and specifications. 
  • Assisting in solving manufacturing problems (related to materials, designs, equipment and tooling, training, and instructions) to support the manufacturing effort. 
  • Collaborate with other departments to ensure a unified understanding of the processes. 
  • Contributes to continuous improvement to assure compliance with the established requirements and build a World-Class manufacturing culture. 
  • Manufacturing experience with roll-to-roll foil converting systems is highly desirable. 
  • Manufacturing experience: exposure to the lithium-ion industry is preferred. 

 

Requirements and Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or engineering technology and 5+ years of relevant work experience. 
  • Proficiency in 3D Solid Modeling using SolidWorks software. 
  • Experience creating fabrication and installation drawings using SolidWorks. 
  • Experience applying applicable drafting standards; ASME Y14.100, Y14.5, Y14.41. 
  • Knowledge of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerance. 
  • Capable of working effectively in a team environment. Strong communication (oral, written, presentation) and organizational skills and ability to meet deadlines. 
  • Understanding statistically thinking strategies, work breakdown structures, and value stream mapping optimization in a manufacturing setting. 
  • Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office, relational databases, and ERP systems (e.g., NetSuite). 

Apply Here >

Founder & CEO

Dr. Sanjiv Malhotra

Dr. Sanjiv Malhotra is the founder and CEO of Sparkz—the battery start-up reinventing the energy supply chain.

 

Malhotra has been a leader in the energy sector for nearly three decades as a founder, investor and executive. Most recently, he served as the inaugural director for the Energy Investor Center at the U.S Department of Energy (DOE), serving under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

 

At DOE, Malhotra led the Obama Administration’s initiative to boost public-private partnerships to accelerate the commercialization of technologies developed in national research centers like Oak Ridge National Labs.

 

Malhotra was recruited to the Department of Energy after a successful exit of Oorja Protonics—the world leader in methanol fuel cells—which he founded and led as CEO for 10 years. Oorja raised $50 Million in equity financing from leading VCs such as Sequoia, DAG Ventures, Artis Capital and others during his tenure. He boosted Oorja’s revenue and profitability growth, while expanding operations globally in Japan, China, South Africa, Mexico, and India.

 

Oorja was acquired in 2014 by the Private Equity firm MinXing Growth Fund.

 

As an investor and consultant, Malhotra has worked at leading venture capital firms, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers as an advisor on clean energy and advanced materials.

 

Earlier in his career, Malhotra led the engineering and product development team at H Power, a pioneer in hydrogen fuel cells. As part of the management team, he managed the successful IPO, which raised more than $100 million in August 2000.

 

He began his career as a post-doctoral fellow at the renowned Lawrence Berkeley National Labs on electrochemical storage systems. Dr. Malhotra has authored seven patents and more than 40 publications in various fields of energy storage technology and materials. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering and an M.B.A from University of Iowa.