Battery Scientist

Our team is growing and we’re looking for an experienced Battery Scientist to join us at our new lab facilities in Wollongong, working with our team and new state of the art equipment, to build and enhance our internal battery materials development expertise and help achieve Sicona’s purpose to: Empower a sustainable energy future without costing the earth.

About Us 

Are you interested in being part of a team actively working to reduce our carbon footprint and environmental impact, and (if we’re lucky) save humanity from itself before we reach climate tipping points? Okay, so we may be taking dramatic liberties to get your attention, but we at Sicona believe in being at the forefront of the growing next generation battery materials industry, so if you want to be part of the solution, and work with like-minded people committed to make a difference, then Sicona Battery Technologies is the place for you, and we want you with us!

But how is Sicona making a difference? Well, we’re glad you asked. We’re innovating in an ecosystem that drives the adoption of new sustainable technology. We want to usher in a new standard for renewable energy storage in the world through the development of our next generation battery materials technology used in the anodes of lithium-ion batteries. Through this technology we aim to enable the production of batteries that have a higher capacity, longer life, and charge faster. Check out our website to find out more about our awesome work: https://siconabattery.com. 

At Sicona you won’t be just a number or treated like a cog in a machine, we care about our team and actively work on creating a good culture. We offer competitive salary packages and an incentive share scheme, so you become a co-owner of the company, actively driving it toward success. You’ll be part of a fast paced, innovative team of experts that will push you to maximise your potential! You’ll have access to opportunities for professional development, learn from some of the best and brightest in the industry, and share your expertise with others in a company that thrives on embracing our inner spirit animal – the Cheetah-Honey badger. Being part of our team means getting stuck into and playing a pivotal role in a variety of exciting projects, getting your hands dirty and being a catalyst for growth and improvement. Our team at Sicona takes dignified pride in their work - you won’t find any pretentious showboats here! Working for Sicona, you will be based in beautiful Wollongong, a lively city which boasts good schools, pristine beaches, plenty of cycle routes, paragliding, rainforests, surfing, scuba diving, restaurants, theatres, and everything a big city has to offer – and just a train ride away from Sydney! 

Sound exciting, you still with us? Then keep on reading to find out how you’ll be contributing to Sicona’s vision! 

About the opportunity

• Electrode fabrication, battery assembly, electrochemical characterisation, and data analysi
• Cathode and anode fabrication at labscale and pilot scale.
• Coin cells, single layer pouch cells, multi-layer pouch cells and cylindrical cells assembly.
• Scaling up of electrode fabrication and cell assembling processes.
• Develop new electrode fabrication methods and new cell designs for innovative electrode materials. 
• Quality control the assembled batteries and refine the electrode and cell making processes through iterations.
• Undertake research and development projects to commercialise new technologies as well as optimise current processes and products.
• Collaborate with other parties such as University and Industry researchers to enhance research output and promote the organisations reputation. May be required to operate in the university laboratories under the terms of a laboratory access agreement between the Company and the University. 
• Characterise battery materials using electrochemical, physical and materials characterisation techniques (galvanic charge-discharge, CV, EIS, GITT, SEM, TEM, TGA, BET etc.)
• Collaborate with Material Scientists to apply the characterisation of the material to ensure the understanding of the electrochemical performance of the material. 
• Provide troubleshooting and hands-on support for ongoing projects.
• Actively communicate with the team during projects to ensure a coordinated design and completion of deliverables. 
• Actively and meticulously engage in record keeping, experimental data capturing, report writing and development of Intellectual Property. 
• Ensure work complies to applicable Australian codes/standards of practise to include WHS and quality control, accepted engineering practices and Company standards.
• Where applicable, supervise entry level team members, providing ongoing coaching and training in relevant areas.

What you will need is: 

• Degree qualification (Masters or above preferable) in Chemistry, Materials Sciences, Physics, or Materials Engineering 
• Experience in prototyping cells with new materials (pouch cells or cylindrical cells) 
• Experienced in roll-to-roll electrode fabrication and lithium-ion battery assembly. 
• 2+ years exposure to the battery industry beyond the laboratory (preferred).
• Demonstrated research experiences in lithium-ion batteries or related fields.
• Materials handling experience, both solids and solution-based formulations and characterisation of such. 
• Experienced in designing and conducting experiments and analysing and interpreting results
• Experienced in electrode and cell design based on materials properties.
• Experienced in troubleshooting the electrode and battery fabrication processes.
• Experienced in daily equipment maintenance. 
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• A high attention to detail and quality of work.
• We work in an ever changing and evolving industry so an ability and willingness to learn and keep up to date with research, methodologies and other changes is a must. 
• Knowledgeable in battery materials, electrodes, and cell configurations