Research Engineer

QpiVolta is seeking a Sodium-Ion Battery Engineer to drive the development, optimization, and scale-up of sodium-ion battery materials and cells, with particular focus on hard carbon anodes, electrolyte–SEI engineering, ICE improvement, and pilot-line pouch cell fabrication.

This role requires strong hands-on experimental capability, deep electrochemical understanding, and the ability to translate lab-scale insights into pilot-line-ready processes.

Key Responsibilities

Sodium-Ion Anode & Electrochemistry

 Design, synthesize, and optimize hard carbon anodes for sodium-ion batteries

 Evaluate doped hard carbons (e.g., N-doped carbons) and their impact on ICE, SEI, and kinetics

 Study Na storage mechanisms, voltage profiles, and irreversible capacity loss

 Develop strategies to improve Initial Coulombic Efficiency (ICE) and cycle stability

Electrolyte & Interface Engineering

 Develop and optimize carbonate- and ether-based Na-ion electrolytes

 Investigate SEI formation mechanisms on hard carbon

 Evaluate electrolyte additives and their impact on ICE and aging

 Address Na inventory loss and interfacial degradation

Cell Development (Coin → Pouch)

 Assemble and test coin cells and pouch cells

 Perform electrode balancing (N/P ratio), loading optimization, and thickness optimization

 Implement and evaluate pre-sodiation strategies

 Analyze full-cell degradation mechanisms

Characterization & Failure Analysis

 Conduct electrochemical testing: CV, GCD, EIS, GITT

 Perform materials characterization: XRD, SEM/EDS, BET, Raman, XPS

 Carry out post-mortem analysis on aged cells

 Correlate materials properties with cell-level performance

Pilot-Line & Scale-Up

 Translate lab-scale processes to pilot-line-compatible workflows

 Support slurry formulation, coating, drying, calendering, and stacking

 Work closely with process, equipment, and quality teams

 Improve batch consistency, yield, and reproducibility

Required Qualifications

Education

 MTech / MS in Electrochemistry, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or related disciplines

 Strong fundamentals of sodium-ion battery chemistry

 Hands-on experience with hard carbon anodes

 Deep understanding of ICE loss mechanisms and SEI chemistry

 Experience with coin and pouch cell assembly

 Strong electrochemical data analysis capability

 Experience with nitrogen-doped or engineered hard carbons

 Pre-sodiation techniques (chemical, electrochemical, sacrificial additives)

 Knowledge of Na-ion cathodes (Prussian blue analogs, layered oxides, polyanion systems)

 Pilot-line or scale-up exposure

 Familiarity with DOE and statistical process control