Job Description
The Director of Product Manufacturing, Cell will oversee the end-to-end operations of lithium-ion cell production at Gotion's Illinois gigafactory, leading manufacturing strategy, team management, quality, safety, and continuous improvement initiatives to achieve high-volume, sustainable battery production.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead end-to-end lithium ion cell manufacturing operations, from commissioning to high-volume production
- Build and manage manufacturing teams including engineers, supervisors, technicians, and quality staff
- Develop and execute manufacturing strategies focused on safety, sustainability, and throughput goals
- Implement continuous improvement initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma, and data-driven methods
- Ensure compliance with environmental, health, and safety standards in the manufacturing environment
- Set up, validate, and optimize cell manufacturing equipment and processes such as electrode production, cell assembly, and testing
- Collaborate with R&D, Process Engineering, and Quality teams to meet performance, yield, and reliability standards
- Coordinate with Supply Chain, Facilities, and Maintenance to plan capacity, manage materials, and reduce downtime
- Support workforce development programs to prepare regional talent for manufacturing roles
- Promote a culture of accountability, quality, safety, and continuous innovation
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Materials Science, Manufacturing, Chemistry, or related technical field.
- At least 10 years of experience in high volume manufacturing leadership, including at least 5 years in battery cell manufacturing or a related field such as semiconductors, chemicals, or advanced materials.
- Proven experience launching or scaling multi gigawatt (GW) scale manufacturing or similarly complex facilities.
- Strong knowledge of lithium ion cell processes including electrode mixing, coating, calendering, stacking, winding, electrolyte filling, formation, OCV aging, and EOL testing.
- Demonstrated leadership in a fast-paced environment with large and diverse teams.
- Experience bringing a gigafactory or greenfield repurposed manufacturing facility into production.
- Six Sigma Black Belt or equivalent certification.
- Experience in high volume cell production, scaling advanced manufacturing systems, and guiding teams through rapid growth phases.
- Ability to own full operational leadership of lithium ion cell production lines from commissioning to steady state, with a target of high volume output of 40 GWh annual cell capacity.
- Experience building and managing production teams, including manufacturing engineering, production supervisors, technicians, quality teams, and maintenance.
- Ability to create and execute manufacturing strategies aligned with safety, sustainability, and throughput targets.
- Experience leading continuous improvement initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma, and data-driven methodologies.
- Knowledge of U.S. regulatory requirements, DOE priorities, and sustainability frameworks.
- Ability to ensure compliance with all environmental, health, and safety standards within a high-tech battery plant environment.
- Experience in setting up, validating, and optimizing cell manufacturing equipment including electrode production, cell assembly, formation, and testing.
- Ability to work closely with R&D, Process Engineering, and Quality teams to ensure production meets performance, yield, and reliability standards.
- Experience collaborating with Supply Chain, Facilities, and Maintenance on capacity planning, materials flow, downtime reduction, and operational readiness.
- Experience supporting workforce programs to prepare regional talent for advanced manufacturing roles.
- Strong leadership skills to drive a culture of accountability, quality, safety, and continuous innovation.
Benefits & Perks
Compensation/salary range: $200,000 - $240,000 plus 20% bonus
Work environment perks: Exciting and challenging working environment, culture of accountability, safety, and continuous innovation
Additional benefits: Opportunities for professional growth, inclusive and diverse workplace, support for workforce development programs
Ready to Apply?
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