--- title: 'Staff Chemical Engineer at Redwood Materials' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/staff-chemical-engineer-redwood-materials-mccarran-bbaccjzqyvbg' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-10-26' --- # Staff Chemical Engineer at Redwood Materials - **Company:** Redwood Materials - **Location:** Mccarran, NV - **Posted:** 2026-08-05 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-26 - **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/redwoodmaterials/jobs/6133809004?gh_jid=6133809004 ## 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. Position Summary Redwood Materials is seeking a Staff Chemical Engineer to lead the design and commissioning of first-of-a-kind recycling plants and brownfield retrofit projects. In this high-impact role, you will take ownership of new plant design from initial concept through detailed engineering and hands-on commissioning. You will also lead brownfield initiatives—from scoping and financial justification to lab-scale trials and full deployment. Collaborating closely with operations, controls, and software teams, your work will directly shape how Redwood scales its next generation of battery recycling technologies. ## Key Responsibilities - Design first-of-a-kind recycling plants for battery waste materials, leading projects from concept through commissioning. - Own and drive brownfield plant retrofits and process improvement projects from initial scoping through full implementation. - Perform cost analyses, design trade studies, and process modeling to guide equipment sizing, predict plant performance, and maximize profitability. - Create Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs), Piping & Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs), and detailed equipment specification sheets. - Plan and execute critical testwork, lab-scale trials, and plant trials to validate and define process designs. - Partner with mechanical, controls, operations, and maintenance teams to deliver complete plant designs and execute safe, successful commissioning. ## Basic Qualifications - B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related discipline. - 8+ years of chemical or process engineering experience with a proven track record of delivering plant, equipment, or product designs. - Direct experience designing flowsheets and equipment for large capital projects, including scale-up from pilot to commercial scale. - Hands-on expertise in process modeling, equipment sizing, and linking testwork data to full-scale project implementation. - Demonstrated experience partnering with operations and maintenance teams to implement safe plant improvement projects. - Proficiency with statistical analysis and metallurgical accounting tools for data-driven decision-making. - Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to lead in a matrixed environment and convey complex technical concepts to non-specialist audiences. Physical Requirements - Ability to perform the essential job functions consistently, safely, and successfully with the ADA, FMLA, and other federal, state, and local standards, including meeting qualitative and/or quantitative productivity standards. - Ability to maintain regular, punctual attendance consistent with the ADA, FMLA, and other federal, state, and local standards. Working Conditions - Environment: Office and industrial/manufacturing facility environment (indoors/outdoors). - Ability to work in challenging working conditions, which may include exposure to noise, dust, chemicals, and temperature extremes while protected by PPE for extended periods of time. - Essential physical requirements such as climbing, standing, stooping, lifting, or typing. - Occasional work weekends, nights, or on-call availability as a regular part of the job. - Occasional travel requirements. 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. 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