
Senior Systems Architect at Formenergy (Somerville, MA)
Formenergy· Somerville, MA·
Role details
Formenergy at a glance
Multi-day iron-air battery storage for the electric grid, made in America.
Form Energy designs and manufactures grid-scale iron-air batteries that store electricity for up to 100 hours, far longer than lithium-ion, at a fraction of the cost. It sells these systems to electric utilities and developers to firm up renewable power and keep the grid reliable through multi-day stress periods, and offers Formware software to model the value of that storage.
$1.2B+ raised · latest: Series F · $405M · 2024 · backed by T. Rowe Price, GE Vernova, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, TPG Rise Climate
Job description
Are you ready to build America’s energy future? Form Energy is an American manufacturing and energy technology company. We’re revolutionizing energy storage with cost-effective, multi-day technology designed to keep the electric grid secure and reliable, even during extended periods of stress. By strengthening the electric system and reimagining what’s possible, we’re giving clean energy a whole new form!
In recent years, Form Energy has earned a number of accolades, including being named by TIME as a “Best Invention”, MIT Technology Review as a “Top Climate Tech Company To Watch”, and Fast Company as “One of the Next Big Things In Tech”. We are making rapid progress on our mission of delivering energy storage for a better world, and our team is growing just as rapidly to meet demand. We have signed contracts with leading electric utilities across the United States and production of our iron-air batteries is underway at our first high-volume manufacturing facility in West Virginia.
Working for Form Energy is more than just a job, it’s a chance to be part of something extraordinary. And now - right as we significantly scale up battery manufacturing - might be the most exciting moment in the company’s history to join. We are assembling a team of highly talented and driven individuals across the country. Driven by our core values of humanity, excellence, and creativity, our team is determined to deliver on our mission and transform the energy landscape for the better.
Feeling energized to make a meaningful impact on the world? Then keep reading - you’ve come to the right place.
ROLE DESCRIPTION
Form Energy is hiring a Senior Systems Architect to help define and shape the architecture of a next-generation battery from the ground up. Reporting into our Advanced Technology Product Architecture lead, you will own system-level architecture and concept evaluation for an early-stage R&D program — building the technoeconomic models and system tradeoff analyses that determine which product concepts we pursue. Working shoulder-to-shoulder with product managers, battery scientists, materials engineers, and system engineers, you'll connect component-level design choices to whole-system performance and cost, while working in the lab to test critical assumptions. This is an exciting opportunity to help shape and be part of the growth of a fast-moving company with breakthrough technology and an incredible mission!
Relocation assistance is available.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
- Develop and apply technoeconomic models to evaluate competing product concepts and set the program technical direction.
- Partner with scientists and engineers across the product to deeply understand design options and quantify their impact on overall system performance and cost.
- Carry out mechanical design, analysis, and bench scale experiments to de-risk key assumptions and progress from ideation to proven concept.
- Communicate architecture decisions and tradeoffs across a widening set of partners — from science and engineering today to product management, finance, supply chain, and manufacturing over time.
- Establish and maintain the system-level requirements — capturing what the product must do, at what cost and performance — and cascade them to component and subsystem teams.
WHAT YOU'LL BRING
- BS with 5+ years of experience (or an advanced degree with commensurate experience) in Mechanical, Electrical, or Chemical Engineering, or a related discipline.
- Demonstrated systems-engineering experience — defining requirements, analyzing tradeoffs, and integrating components into a coherent whole.
- Strong physics-based modeling skills and ability to reason from first principles, with high fluency in core engineering fundamentals (mechanical, electrical, or chemical); experience with scientific programming is a plus.
- Complex hardware development experience — a background in batteries, electrochemical systems, or energy storage is ideal, but adjacent complex-hardware domains (e.g., automotive, aerospace, semiconductor) are equally welcome.
- Proven cross-functional collaboration and comfort with multidisciplinary, ambiguous problems — including the ability to hold productive technical conversations well outside your own domain of expertise.
- Excellent communication and organizational skills.
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Humanity is a cornerstone of Form Energy’s culture, and we make sure our compensation and benefits reflect that. Form Energy offers competitive salaries, stock options, and a holistic benefits package to ensure all employees have what they need to thrive while working here.
When it comes to you and your family’s health, we cover 100% of medical, dental, and vision premiums for full-time employees - and 80% of healthcare premiums for dependents. This starts from day one. We also offer at least 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents (up to 20 weeks for birthing parents), and generous vacation policies to give employees time to recharge when needed.
To build America’s energy future, we need everyone at the table. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply to our open jobs.
If you may require reasonable accommodations to participate in our interview process, please contact accommodations@formenergy.com. Requests for accommodations will be treated with discretion.
Form Energy is committed to maintaining the privacy of our applicants. Please be aware that we will never solicit sensitive personal information such as Social Security numbers or bank account details during the recruiting or hiring process.
Why work at Formenergy
- Culture: Driven by core values of Humanity, Excellence, and Creativity. Emphasis on inclusion, empathy, pragmatic optimism, and tackling hard challenges.
- Locations: R&D in Somerville, MA; engineering in Berkeley, CA; manufacturing in Weirton, WV; remote/hybrid options available for some roles.
- Benefits:
- 100% of medical, dental, and vision premiums covered for employees; 80% for dependents.
- Health insurance starts day one.
- Up to 12 weeks paid parental leave (more for birth parents).
- Stock options granted to all employees.
- Company-sponsored 401k.
- Annual professional development budget.
- Employee Resource Program (financial/legal guidance).
- Mental health counseling services.
- Life insurance, short- and long-term disability.
- Team size: Nearly 1,000 employees as of early 2025, with plans to grow. formenergy.com/careers
- Awards: Recognized as a Breakthrough Energy company; multiple industry accolades for innovation.