Senior Director of Manufacturing
Peak EnergyBurlingame, California, United States · Posted 3 months agoDescription
Peak Energy
Role: Senior Director of Manufacturing
Location Burlingame, CA (with significant time at Sacramento, CA manufacturing facility)
Department Manufacturing
Reports To VP of Manufacturing
Position Type Full-time
About Peak Energy
Peak Energy Technologies is the first American venture to advance globally proven Sodium-Ion battery systems as the storage standard for the new era of renewable energy on a resilient grid. Sodium-Ion is cheap, readily available and safe, making it the leading contender in a rapidly evolving market.
We're a team of about 105 today growing rapidly as we move from pilot through commercial scale-up. We operate with modern tooling, including a company-wide AI platform and a builder-first culture that rewards taking ownership end-to-end.
Our leadership team is powered by decades of expertise in scaling gigawatt-level innovation at world-class companies such as Tesla, Northvolt, Apple, Powin, Enovix, Zipline, Solid Power, and Fluence. We are backed by strategic investment and product partners such as Xora, Eclipse Ventures, and TDK Ventures.
We are a team of engineers, operators, entrepreneurs, and partners driven by a shared ambition to set the new performance standard for renewable energy and grid resilience.
About the Role - Senior Director of Manufacturing
The Senior Director of Manufacturing owns the end-to-end manufacturing strategy and execution for Peak's sodium-ion battery systems as we move from pilot through giga-scale commercial production. You will lead manufacturing engineering, manufacturing operations, process development, facilities, equipment, yield, and ramp readiness across the full BESS stack, spanning our Burlingame pilot operation and our Sacramento manufacturing facility.
This role exists right now because Peak is in the most consequential operational moment of the company. First commercial customer deliveries are imminent, multi-year supply contracts are landing, and the production system we build over the next eighteen months will define our cost structure, our ramp velocity, and our ability to meet the grid-scale demand coming through 2027 and beyond.
You'll partner closely with engineering, supply chain, and our commercial team to bring product to market and stand up the production system that supports it. You'll inherit a strong technical bench and an ambitious roadmap, and you'll have the autonomy to build the manufacturing organization the company needs.
This role is for a builder. Someone who can move from in the weeds problem solving to board-level planning in the same day, and who wants to own outcomes and manage the process.
What You'll Do (Responsibilities)
- Lead the manufacturing engineering and process development organization through the ramp from pilot to giga-scale production
- Define and execute the production ramp plan, including equipment specification, line layout, yield curves, and cost-down roadmap across our Burlingame and Sacramento sites
- Build and develop a world-class manufacturing leadership bench spanning process engineering, equipment, quality, automation, and facilities
- Partner with engineering to drive design-for-manufacturing into the product roadmap from day one, not as a downstream cleanup exercise
- Own manufacturing KPIs end-to-end: throughput, yield, OEE, cost per kWh, and safety performance
- Drive process maturity from pilot-scale engineering handoffs into stable, repeatable, audit-ready production for commercial customer shipments
- Establish and manage strategic relationships with equipment OEMs, automation partners, and consumables suppliers
- Represent manufacturing in executive forums, board updates, and customer and investor due diligence
What You'll Bring (Qualifications)
- 10+ years in battery, semiconductor, or other high-volume precision manufacturing, with a clear track record of progressive leadership scope
- Direct experience scaling from pilot to GWh-level (or equivalent) production with documented yield, cost, and ramp outcomes
- Demonstrated success building and leading manufacturing engineering organizations of 50+, including process, equipment, and quality functions
- Hands-on fluency with lean manufacturing, SPC, FMEA, Six Sigma, and modern factory operating systems
- Experience operating in early-commercialization environments where the playbook is still being written
- BS or MS in Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
- Strong commercial instincts and a clear point of view on what drives cost per kWh and where the points of leverage are
- Comfort with the ambiguity, intensity, and pace of a growth-stage, venture-backed company
Preferred Qualifications
- Direct lithium-ion or sodium-ion cell or pack manufacturing experience at a commercial-scale facility
- Experience at a company that successfully made the leap from prototype to commercial product
- Familiarity with energy storage system integration, field deployment, and the realities of grid-connected operation
- Comfort using modern AI tools in day-to-day workflow, we operate with Claude as a company-wide platform and reward leaders who use these tools to compound their leverage
Peak Energy is committ
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