--- title: 'Cathode Design Engineer at Redwood Materials' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/cathode-design-engineer-redwood-materials-mccarran-g686pabsmf1c' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-10-26' --- # Cathode Design Engineer at Redwood Materials - **Company:** Redwood Materials - **Location:** Mccarran, NV - **Posted:** 2026-07-29 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-26 - **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/redwoodmaterials/jobs/6103561004?gh_jid=6103561004 ## Job description ## About Redwood Materials Redwood Materials was founded in 2017 by JB Straubel, co-founder and former CTO of Tesla, on a simple but radical idea: the critical minerals powering the energy transition already exist. They just need to come back. Today Redwood is the largest lithium-ion battery recycler in North America — recovering, refining, and redeploying critical minerals from end-of-life batteries back into the supply chain. On the energy side, Redwood has deployed the largest second-life battery project in the world, delivering power to AI data centers in months rather than years using proprietary energy architecture engineered entirely in-house. The company is profitable, the market it operates in is projected to grow 20 to 50 times over the next decade, and Redwood is the only company with the supply chain, the technology, and the operational scale to lead it. Redwood Materials is currently recruiting a Cathode Design Engineer to join our Cathode R&D team to develop the next generation of cathode active materials (CAM) and their manufacturing processes. This role is at the center of our activities focused on creating a sustainable circular economy for lithium-ion batteries. As a Cathode Design Engineer, you will play a leading role in the development of new processes for scaling up and manufacturing CAM, including identifying or developing production technologies. These technologies are key to scaling cost-effective processes that meet the high-quality needs of CAM. The role is based at our McCarran, Nevada location, which includes pilot plant facilities to produce CAM and state-of-the-art analytical and electrochemical capabilities. As a member of the Redwood Materials team, you will be at the center of a rapidly growing company driving to become the world’s largest and most sustainable producer of materials for lithium-ion batteries. ## Responsibilities - Conduct design of experiments to gather relevant data to guide scale-up design, inform process parameter tolerances, improve material performance, and reduce production costs - Provide engineering expertise (such as mass and energy balance, flowsheet, and process simulation) to identify, develop, and implement process technologies for the scale-up and production of cathode active materials (CAM) - Interface with equipment suppliers through concept development, system design, detailed design, procurement, installation, and acceptance testing - Support development of the technology roadmap to align with business strategy and customer needs while defining and leading technology projects - Create intellectual property (IP) and collaborate with the legal team to write and file patent applications - Provide technical expertise to commercial and business development teams, senior management, and key stakeholders Desired Qualifications - Advanced degree (BS or MS) in an engineering or material science discipline - Evidence of exceptional ability, including strong understanding of engineering fundamentals and demonstrated ability to leverage this understanding to solve challenging problems - 1–5 years of industrial experience in relevant areas such as process development and scale-up, process engineering, and technology management - Technical expertise in inorganic materials processes including solids handling, hydrometallurgy, calcination, or chemical processing - Familiarity with thermal equipment (dryers or kilns), powder loading, dosing, mixing, conveying, milling equipment, and solid-liquid separation equipment - Ability to perform process design including mass and energy balance calculations, process flow sheet development, and simulation - Excellent data analysis and technical presentation abilities - Ability to manage and prioritize activities in a fast-changing environment - Track record of building trust within internal teams and with external customers - Excellent written and verbal communication skills - A passion for sustainability and clean energy technology The position is full-time. Compensation will be commensurate with experience. We collect personal information (PI) from you in connection with your application for employment with Redwood Materials, including the following categories of PI: identifiers, personal records, professional or employment information, and inferences drawn from your PI. We collect your PI for our purposes, including performing services and operations related to your potential employment. If you have additional privacy-related questions, please contact us at privacy@redwoodmaterials.com. ## About Redwood Materials ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Redwood Materials recycles lithium-ion batteries to recover critical minerals and deploys large-scale energy storage systems, building a domestic circular supply chain for batteries. - **Entity Type**: Private (Late-stage; Series E closed at $425M in October 2025) - **Headquarters**: Carson City, Nevada, USA (with campuses in Northern Nevada, South Carolina, and an R&D center in San Francisco) - **Founded**: 2017 - **Founders**: JB Straubel (former Tesla CTO) ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Battery recycling, critical materials production, and energy storage - **Target customers**: B2B – automotive OEMs, data center operators, utilities, and grid-scale energy storage buyers - **Mission/purpose**: “Securing U.S. critical materials. Powering America’s energy future.” – building a resilient domestic supply chain for batteries and enabling the energy transition. ## Products & Services - **Critical Materials Production**: Recovers lithium, nickel, cobalt, and copper from end-of-life batteries (recycling) and produces cathode active material at scale. [redwoodmaterials.com](https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/) - **Redwood Energy**: Designs, integrates, and deploys large-scale energy storage systems (BESS) for data centers and the grid, using both new and repurposed batteries. [redwoodmaterials.com](https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/) - **Battery Bin**: Consumer-facing recycling program launched in December 2025 to collect end-of-life batteries. [redwoodmaterials.com/about/](https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/about/) ## Market Standing - **Valuation**: ~$6 billion (as of October 2025, per Wikipedia) - **Key Metric**: Total funding raised >$1.4B (over $1B in 2023 plus $425M Series E in 2025). Annual revenue not publicly disclosed. - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Partners include Volkswagen Group of America, Panasonic, GM/Ultium Cells, Volvo, Amazon, Toyota, Southern Company, BMW of North America, Crusoe, Lime, Caterpillar, Isuzu. [redwoodmaterials.com](https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/) - **Growth Signals**: - Opened South Carolina recycling campus (2025) and SF R&D center (2025) - Launched Redwood Energy storage division (2025) - Expanded into Europe (2022) - Recognized as Fast Company’s World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies (2024, 2026) and Time100 Climate (2024) - Active job postings: 79 (as of mid-2026), with monthly growth of +83.7% [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/redwood-materials) ## Competitive Advantages - **Technology moat**: Recovers >95% of metals (nickel, cobalt, lithium, copper) from end-of-life batteries, creating a low-cost domestic source of critical materials. - **Vertical integration**: Combines recycling, refining, cathode production, and energy storage deployment under one roof. - **Strategic partnerships**: Deep relationships with nearly every major automotive OEM and energy companies, ensuring feedstock and offtake. - **First-mover in U.S. battery circularity**: One of the largest domestic sources of critical minerals, reducing reliance on foreign supply chains. ## Strategic Focus - Scale domestic battery material production and energy storage manufacturing to meet U.S. grid and EV demand. - Expand Redwood Energy as a standalone business unit for utility and data center storage. - Grow consumer recycling programs (Battery Bin) and deepen partnerships with automakers and energy companies. - Continue R&D in advanced battery chemistries and recycling processes at the San Francisco innovation center. ## Why Work Here - **Mission-driven culture**: Employees are motivated by building a resilient U.S. energy future and solving climate challenges. - **Pioneering environment**: Described as “pioneers, innovators, and collaborators” working on chemistry, materials science, automation, and advanced equipment design. [redwoodmaterials.com/join/](https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/join/) - **Locations**: Multiple campuses – Tahoe (Northern Nevada), Carolina (South Carolina), and downtown San Francisco R&D center. - **Growth opportunities**: Rapid scaling with 79+ open roles across engineering, operations, EPC, software, and business functions. Top talent sources include Tesla (207 alumni), Panasonic, Rivian, and Chewy. - **Work style**: Hybrid/office presence expected at campuses; culture emphasizes making difficult decisions and implementing design constraints to drive impact. ## Sources 1. [redwoodmaterials.com](https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/) 2. [redwoodmaterials.com/about/](https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/about/) 3. [redwoodmaterials.com/join/](https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/join/) 4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/redwood-materials) 5. [wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redwood_Materials) ## Other roles at Redwood Materials - [Energy Production Planner](https://feeny.ai/job/energy-production-planner-redwood-materials-mccarran-52s8s85vpcz7) — Mccarran, NV - [Staff Global Supply Manager, Construction](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-global-supply-manager-construction-redwood-materials-san-francisco-3n2x4fcm6etp) — San Francisco, CA - [Payroll Specialist III](https://feeny.ai/job/payroll-specialist-iii-redwood-materials-carson-city-30e05zkbpw79) — Carson City, NV - [Controls Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/controls-engineer-redwood-materials-mccarran-8m18h7q532d6) — Mccarran, NV - [Staff Environmental Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-environmental-engineer-redwood-materials-mccarran-qbc1h522m5tr) — Mccarran, NV - [Senior Supply Chain Program Manager, Energy Storage](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-supply-chain-program-manager-energy-storage-redwood-materials-san-a0d24zgf7tnd) — San Francisco, CA - [Senior Electrical Hardware Test Engineer, Energy Storage](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-electrical-hardware-test-engineer-energy-storage-redwood-materials-san-trey1td3r6a1) — San Francisco, CA - [Senior Construction Field Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-construction-field-manager-redwood-materials-mccarran-qqrbastybfxv) — Mccarran, NV - [Accounts Payable Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/accounts-payable-specialist-redwood-materials-carson-city-5984ftx3yhrp) — Carson City, NV - [Senior Finance Associate](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-finance-associate-redwood-materials-san-francisco-pgkdjce6g6a5) — San Francisco, CA