Full-Time
Senior Staff Customer Quality Engineer
Posted on 8/18/2026
Sila Nanotechnologies
201-500 employees
Licenses and manufactures silicon-based battery materials
Compensation Overview
$156k - $197k/yr
Alameda, CA, USA
In Person
Bachelor's, Master's, PhD
 QA & Testing (1) |
|---|
Get referred to Sila Nanotechnologies
See people who can refer or advise you
- A minimum of 12 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree, or 8 years and a Master's degree, or a PhD with 5 years of experience, or equivalent experience.
- Experience with battery materials, powder or particle-based products, or closely related chemical or materials manufacturing.
- Demonstrated experience owning customer quality relationships, including PPAP/APQP submissions, customer-specific requirements management, and complaint/RMA resolution.
- Strong knowledge of IATF 16949 or equivalent automotive/high-reliability quality management system standards and core quality tools including FMEA, control plans, 8D, SPC, and MSA.
- Ability to collaborate cross-functionally across governance and execution boundaries with plant-based quality and manufacturing teams.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including direct experience presenting to customers in quality business review or audit settings.
- Ability to operate a computer and other office equipment in a fixed location.
- Serve as the primary quality point of contact for customers, managing the relationship through qualification, launch, and steady-state production.
- Lead PPAP/APQP submissions and approvals for new customer programs and specification or process changes, coordinating with Manufacturing, R&D, and Plant Quality.
- Own assigned customer-specific requirements by interpreting and documenting them and ensuring they are flowed down into internal specifications, control plans, and the quality management system.
- Lead customer complaint and RMA investigations and coordinate 8D problem solving, including containment, root cause analysis using 5-Why, fault tree analysis, and fishbone analysis, corrective and preventive action, and customer-facing communication and closure.
- Represent quality in customer program reviews and host or facilitate audits and quality business reviews; prepare performance data including PPM, scorecards, and corrective-action status for customer-facing reporting.
- Partner with plant manufacturing quality, including the quality control and analytics lab, to translate customer requirements and findings into containment and corrective and preventive actions, and escalate issues requiring engineering, supplier, or product-level resolution.
- Maintain and continuously improve customer quality documentation and processes in alignment with ISO/IATF and APQP/PPAP requirements.
- Track and report customer quality performance trends, identify systemic issues, and coordinate preventive action before customer escalation.
Sila Nanotechnologies develops advanced battery materials to improve lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and energy storage. It uses Titan Silicon technology to replace part of the traditional anode with silicon-based compounds, increasing energy density and improving range. It licenses its technology and sells high-performance materials to major battery and EV manufacturers, including partnerships with Panasonic to integrate its materials into their cells. The company is expanding production in California and Washington to scale up to about 150 GWh in five years, aiming to lower costs and support environmental sustainability through scalable manufacturing and strategic collaborations.
Company Size
201-500
Company Stage
Debt Financing
Total Funding
$3.2B
Headquarters
Alameda, California
Founded
2011
Get referred to Sila Nanotechnologies
See people who can refer or advise you
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- August 7, 2026, OSC backed Sila with a $1.4 billion conditional loan commitment.
- July 2026, Sila raised $300 million from Sutter Hill and Atreides for expansion.
- Moses Lake output targets tens of GWh yearly, supporting EV and defense demand.
What critics are saying
- The $1.4 billion War loan stays conditional until Sila clears financing and technical hurdles.
- Scaling Moses Lake to 250 GWh by 2030 risks execution failures and cost blowouts.
- Panasonic and Mercedes concentration leaves Sila exposed if any launch slips in 2026.
What makes Sila Nanotechnologies unique
- Titan Silicon silicon-carbon anodes reduce graphite dependence and boost energy density.
- Moses Lake started operations in 2025, giving Sila U.S. GWh-scale production.
- Sila now serves defense, EV, electronics, and drone customers from one platform.
Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?
Benefits
Health Insurance
Company Equity
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↓ -1%1 year growth
↓ -1%2 year growth
↓ -2%The War Department signed a $1.4 billion conditional loan commitment with Sila Nanotechnologies, Inc., a U.S.-based manufacturer of advanced battery materials that directly supports the U.S. defense
Washington commits US$3 billion to minerals, none of it to Mexico. By Paloma Duran | Journalist and Industry Analyst - Mon, 08/10/2026 - 11:44 DIA assistant The United States committed nearly US$3 billion on Aug. 7 in loans, equity and grants to domestic and allied critical minerals, battery and magnet projects, with no Mexican assets included despite Mexico producing nine minerals deemed critical for North America. The non-binding Mexico-US Action Plan on Critical Minerals, a lithium state monopoly with negligible funding, frozen concession issuance and unpublished 2023 mining reform regulations continue to divert capital toward Argentina and Brazil. The gap carries direct consequences for Mexican mining, automotive and advanced manufacturing ahead of September's USMCA review round. Washington committed close to US$3 billion in federal loans, equity and grants to critical minerals, battery and mining workforce projects on Aug. 7, in an explicit effort to pull supply chains out of China's orbit. The package stretches from Arizona and Alabama to Australia and Madagascar without funding a single Mexican asset, even though Mexico ranks among the world's leading producers of nine minerals Washington classifies as critical for North America. President Donald Trump announced the commitments at the State Department alongside Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, framing domestic supply as a defense priority. Critical minerals, he said, should be "mined, refined and made right here in the USA." Executives from Rio Tinto, BHP, Freeport-McMoRan, MP Materials, USA Rare Earth, Energy Fuels, US Antimony and The Metals Company were expected to attend. Beijing's leverage sits in processing rather than extraction: China holds roughly 70% of global refining capacity and 91% of rare earth processing. A trade truce eased Chinese export controls on rare earths and magnets, but the category remains a live pressure point between the two economies, and Washington's answer has been to finance a mine-to-magnet chain that bypasses Chinese facilities entirely. Where the Money Lands The largest single item is a US$1.4 billion conditional loan from the Defense Department's Office of Strategic Capital to Sila Nanotechnologies, which manufactures silicon-based anode material that substitutes for graphite in lithium-ion cells. The same office extended US$400 million to Sunrise Energy Metals to scale scandium output in Australia, a metal used in aerospace alloys, and US$150 million to Niron Magnetics, a Minnesota developer of permanent magnets that contain no rare earths at all. The Export-Import Bank is separately arranging more than US$1 billion for Ivanhoe Electric's Santa Cruz copper project in Arizona and US$25 million to open a graphite mine in Alabama, alongside US$58 million split among Westwater Resources, Global Advanced Metals and 5E Advanced Materials. Another US$180 million goes to mining schools and workforce programs. Cumulatively, federal agencies have now pledged upward of US$10 billion to seed domestic rare earth and magnet capacity, a campaign that began with the Pentagon's US$400 million preferred equity stake in MP Materials. The Bilateral Plan That Never Got Binding For Mexico, the package sharpens a gap that has been widening all year. The Mexico-US Action Plan on Critical Minerals, signed Feb. 4, named copper, silver, lithium, graphite and zinc as priorities for joint development and contemplated geological data sharing between the US Geological Survey and its Mexican counterpart, coordinated stockpiling and border-adjusted price floors on mineral imports. It carried a 60-day implementation window that closed on April 5. It is also, as MBN has reported, a policy framework rather than a treaty, with no binding obligation on either government and no attached capital. Mexico attended the 2026 Critical Minerals Ministerial but was not among the eleven signatories to the memoranda concluded there. The financing announced last week shows what the alternative looks like when it is binding: conditional loans with drawdown schedules, equity positions and named offtakers. Washington is also coordinating supply with Brussels on minimum pricing and joint investment, a structure that could consolidate around partners other than Mexico. Domestic Rules Still Cut Against the Endowment The constraint is largely internal. Mexico ranks in the global top 15 for 19 minerals, 12 of them on the US critical list, and supplies roughly a quarter of the world's silver. CAMIMEX estimates a coherent critical minerals policy could draw US$43 billion by 2030 and generate 500,000 jobs. "Fully recognizing mining within the USMCA is a matter of economic security for the region," said Pedro Rivero, President, CAMIMEX. Against that, lithium remains a constitutional state monopoly closed to private concessions, and LitioMx operates on a 2026 budget of MX$13.9 million (US$805,000) covering operating costs only, the third consecutive year without project capital. The administration has held to its policy of issuing no new concession titles, cancelled some 1,200 concessions and recovered 889,512ha, while the implementing regulations for the 2023 Mining Law reform remain unpublished, leaving operators under the prior rulebook. Exploration spending has slid from above US$500 million in 2023 toward US$400 million. Argentina and Brazil, both offering structured incentive regimes, have absorbed capital that might otherwise have priced Mexican projects. Progress exists on the administrative side. The Ministry of Economy inherited 176 stalled projects, resolved 110 of them and targeted full normalization by mid-2026, unlocking a US$11 billion pipeline concentrated in Zacatecas, Sonora and Durango. That is a permitting fix, not an investment framework. September Is the Test Two calendars now converge. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected in Washington in September, and the fourth round of USMCA review negotiations opens in the first week of the same month, under the annual review cycle triggered when the United States declined a 16-year extension on July 1. Mexican exports to the US rose 13% to US$298.2 billion in 1H26, but Section 232 duties of 50% still apply to copper, steel and aluminum products, meaning the minerals Washington most wants secured regionally are also the ones facing the steepest border cost. Whether Mexico converts its endowment into contracts will depend on the regulatory signal it sends before those talks close, not on the size of its reserves.
Trump announces over USD 2 billion mining investments to bolster US critical mineral supply chains. ANI 08 Aug 2026, 15:29 GMT+ New Delhi [India], August 8 (ANI): US President Donald Trump has announced more than USD 2 billion in new investments in mining and mining-related projects, along with over USD 180 million for mining schools, as his administration seeks to strengthen domestic critical mineral supply chains, reduce dependence on foreign countries and bolster US national security. According to a fact sheet released by the White House, the investments were announced during a roundtable between Trump and mining industry leaders, described by the administration as the largest meeting between a US President and mining industry leaders in more than 120 years. The Department of War is investing USD 1.4 billion in California-based Sila Nanotechnologies to expand production of silicon-carbon battery anodes and build a lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facility. The investment is aimed at strengthening supply chains for satellite operations, unmanned aerial systems and munitions. The department is also investing USD 400 million in Sunrise Energy Metals to develop a full scandium value chain, including the world's first primary scandium mine, while USD 150 million will go to Minnesota-based Niron Magnetics to develop and produce domestic, rare earth-free permanent magnets. More than USD 85 million is being invested in Standard Bauxite to secure supplies of refractory-grade bauxite, which is used in high-temperature-resistant materials and critical industrial applications. The Export-Import Bank is separately investing USD 8 million in 5E Advanced Materials to develop a boron deposit, USD 25 million in Westwater Resources for the Coosa Graphite Deposit in Alabama and another USD 25 million in Global Advanced Materials in Pennsylvania for tantalum and niobium projects. The US Development Finance Corporation is also matching a USD 4.8 million investment in Harena Rare Earths to develop a rare earth mine in Madagascar, aimed at securing key inputs for American manufacturing. The administration said the investments are part of a broader effort to reduce US reliance on foreign sources for critical materials used in automobiles, military equipment, factory machinery, smartphones and computers. The White House said the US critical mineral supply chain has contracted over several decades despite growing demand, making domestic mining, processing, refining, manufacturing and recycling capacity a national and economic security priority. Alongside mining projects, the Department of Energy is investing USD 100 million in 14 US mining schools to strengthen the workforce and double the number of graduates with mining, minerals and related supply-chain credentials. The Department of War is also investing more than USD 80 million in three schools for workforce development and technology innovation hubs. The White House said the Trump administration has signed or approved 160 minerals-related deals worth nearly USD 40 billion since January 2025. Trump has also used Section 232 and executive orders to promote domestic production and address vulnerabilities in critical mineral supply chains. The latest measures come as the administration continues its broader push to reshore strategic industries, secure defence supply chains and reduce US dependence on foreign sources of critical minerals. (ANI)
US President Donald Trump announces over USD 2 billion mining investments to bolster US critical mineral supply chains. By Agencies August 8, 2026 Updated:August 8, 2026 No Comments 3 Mins Read US President Donald Trump has announced more than USD 2 billion in new investments in mining and mining-related projects, along with over USD 180 million for mining schools, as his administration seeks to strengthen domestic critical mineral supply chains, reduce dependence on foreign countries and bolster US national security. According to a fact sheet released by the White House, the investments were announced during a roundtable between Trump and mining industry leaders, described by the administration as the largest meeting between a US President and mining industry leaders in more than 120 years. The Department of War is investing USD 1.4 billion in California-based Sila Nanotechnologies to expand production of silicon-carbon battery anodes and build a lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facility. The investment is aimed at strengthening supply chains for satellite operations, unmanned aerial systems and munitions. The department is also investing USD 400 million in Sunrise Energy Metals to develop a full scandium value chain, including the world's first primary scandium mine, while USD 150 million will go to Minnesota-based Niron Magnetics to develop and produce domestic, rare earth-free permanent magnets. More than USD 85 million is being invested in Standard Bauxite to secure supplies of refractory-grade bauxite, which is used in high-temperature-resistant materials and critical industrial applications. The Export-Import Bank is separately investing USD 8 million in 5E Advanced Materials to develop a boron deposit, USD 25 million in Westwater Resources for the Coosa Graphite Deposit in Alabama and another USD 25 million in Global Advanced Materials in Pennsylvania for tantalum and niobium projects. The US Development Finance Corporation is also matching a USD 4.8 million investment in Harena Rare Earths to develop a rare earth mine in Madagascar, aimed at securing key inputs for American manufacturing. The administration said the investments are part of a broader effort to reduce US reliance on foreign sources for critical materials used in automobiles, military equipment, factory machinery, smartphones and computers. The White House said the US critical mineral supply chain has contracted over several decades despite growing demand, making domestic mining, processing, refining, manufacturing and recycling capacity a national and economic security priority. Alongside mining projects, the Department of Energy is investing USD 100 million in 14 US mining schools to strengthen the workforce and double the number of graduates with mining, minerals and related supply-chain credentials. The Department of War is also investing more than USD 80 million in three schools for workforce development and technology innovation hubs. The White House said the Trump administration has signed or approved 160 minerals-related deals worth nearly USD 40 billion since January 2025. Trump has also used Section 232 and executive orders to promote domestic production and address vulnerabilities in critical mineral supply chains. The latest measures come as the administration continues its broader push to reshore strategic industries, secure defence supply chains and reduce US dependence on foreign sources of critical minerals.
U.S. to invest $3 billion in minerals projects to boost supply chains. U.S. President Donald Trump during an American mining industry roundtable discussion at the State Department in Washington on Friday SHARE/SAVE Aug 8, 2026 Washington - U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday the federal government would invest $3 billion into multiple critical minerals and battery projects as part of a push to increase domestic production and boost national security and industrial policy. "We're reclaiming America's rightful place as the minerals superpower of the world," Trump told more than 200 mining executives, educators, investors and fellow politicians at a roundtable discussion at the State Department aimed at supporting the industry, which he said had not received enough attention from Washington in recent years. He announced a slew of investments during his speech, including a $1.4 billion conditional loan from the U.S. Department of Defense's Office of Strategic Capital for Sila Nanotechnologies, which makes lithium-ion battery parts. The OSC also extended a $400 million conditional loan to scandium miner Sunrise Energy Metals and a $150 million conditional loan to magnet developer Niron Magnetics. The U.S. Export-Import Bank will lend $58 million to Westwater Resources, Global Advanced Metals and 5E Advanced Materials. "Critical minerals are the raw materials of American strength that power everything from advanced weaponry to automobiles, and we want these essential products to be mined, refined and made right here in the USA," Trump said. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and National Security Council official David Copley also attended. The White House needs critical minerals to replenish weapons stockpiles depleted during the Iran conflict and reduce U.S. dependence on Chinese supply chains. Several executives came with gifts for Trump. Tom Albanese, chairman of deep-sea mining firm American Ocean Minerals, gave Trump a gold replica of a nodule that the company hopes to mine from the Pacific seabed. Trump last year said he may bypass the United Nations-backed International Seabed Authority and issue international seabed mining licenses. Jim Litinsky, CEO of rare earths firm MP Materials, which is financially supported by the Pentagon, gave Trump magnets that had been produced for General Motors in the company's Texas plant. Other attendees included executives from Lithium Americas, which is building the largest U.S. lithium mine, NioCorp, which is building a scandium mine to supply defense contractor Lockheed Martin, and Energy Fuels, which received a $725 million OSC conditional loan in June. U.S. forces have burned through large numbers of precision-guided missiles and air-defense interceptors during the 5-month-long Iran war. Defense officials and lawmakers have warned that replenishing some inventories could take years given existing production constraints, even as the Trump administration has disputed reports of significant shortages. Supplies of minerals including rare earths, tungsten, germanium and scandium are essential for manufacturing precision-guided missiles, fighter aircraft, armored vehicles, infrared sensors and other advanced weapons systems, according to Pentagon officials and defense companies. The Department of Energy also on Friday hosted representatives from all 14 accredited U.S. mining schools to promote mining careers and encourage more students to enter the field. The department announced $100 million in grants to help boost educational programs and set a goal of doubling the number of mining-related graduates at the nation's universities within two years. "We need to work on some systemic changes to how we as a nation want to offer our brightest students an opportunity to participate in this industry," said Assistant Energy Secretary Audrey Robertson. The Pentagon also said it would fund $80 million in projects at three U.S. mining schools. Officials have pointed to China's extensive network of mining universities as a key advantage in its dominance of global mineral production. Since returning to office, Trump has launched a $12 billion strategic minerals stockpile, backed equity investments in companies developing U.S. mines and processing facilities, and sought to limit defense contractors from relying on supplies from China. The administration says government support is needed to counter decades of Chinese investment that left Beijing dominant in the mining and processing of many strategic minerals. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.