---
title: 'Mechanical Design Engineer, Energy Storage at Redwood Materials'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-design-engineer-energy-storage-redwood-materials-san-francisco-83n9f6jr9p89'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-02'
---

# Mechanical Design Engineer, Energy Storage at Redwood Materials

- **Company:** Redwood Materials
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA
- **Compensation:** $125k–$165k
- **Posted:** 2026-03-26
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-02
- **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/redwoodmaterials/jobs/5835808004?gh_jid=5835808004

## 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.

Mechanical Engineer, Energy Storage

You will be an early member of a new engineering team, taking a hands-on role in the design, development, and integration of a new high-power electromechanical product line at Redwood. This position starts as a senior individual contributor, where you'll be responsible for designing critical mechanical components and systems related to high power electronics, including thermal management, harnessing, enclosures, structures, and reliability while also collaborating closely with electrical, software, and systems engineering teams. As the product builds momentum, you will be instrumental in building and leading a mechanical engineering team, setting the foundation for scaling our product into high volume manufacturing.

The ideal candidate is highly self-driven, adaptable to a startup environment, and eager to take on both technical and leadership challenges. You’re a leader and a doer, excited about working in a dynamic, fast-paced setting, and want to shape the mechanical engineering function within a new department at Redwood.

If necessary, we will adjust the job level to suit your experience and responsibilities.

Responsibilities will include:

- Lead and execute the mechanical design and development of a high-volume, high-power energy conversion product from concept to deployment, including thermal management, authoring requirements, structural design, packaging/integration of power electronics, and integration with grid infrastructure
- Act as the primary mechanical engineering expert, driving innovation and solving technical challenges at a large scale
- Perform mechanical analysis (CFD, FEA, thermal, etc.) to validate designs and ensure performance under real-world conditions
- Collaborate with electrical and systems engineers to ensure seamless integration of mechanical systems into the overall system architecture
- Select materials and components, working closely with suppliers and vendors to ensure cost-effective, high-quality solutions
- Be a hands-on engineering manager, accountable for project goals and timelines
- Take a leadership role in recruiting, mentoring, and managing a high-performance mechanical engineering team
- Contribute to a collaborative, fast-paced startup culture, where every team member plays a crucial role in achieving company milestones

Desired Qualifications:

- BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering or a related field
- 1-3 years of experience in mechanical engineering, with a strong focus in power conversion or energy storage products, ideally for mass production
- An understanding of the relationship between high voltage electronics and the mechanical systems that support and surround them (e.g. insulation systems and thermal systems)
- Proven track record as a senior mechanical engineer, with hands-on design, prototyping, and launch experience in medium-to-high volume production (10,000 units/yr or higher)
- Proficiency in CAD (e.g., SolidWorks) and analysis tools (CFD, FEA, etc.)
- Experience developing tools, infrastructure and design practices for a growing team
- Self-motivated, with the ability to manage your work in a startup environment, balancing multiple priorities and deadlines
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, capable of building relationships with all levels of the organization and presenting to internal and external executives
- Passion for sustainability and making the world a better place!

In accordance with California pay transparency laws, the salary range for this position is listed below. Actual compensation may vary based on a variety of factors, including experience, education, and skills.

California Pay Range: $125,000—$165,000 USD

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)

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