Key Responsibilities
1. Test Strategy & Execution
- Define and execute testing protocols with scientific rigor: establish electrochemistry-grounded hypotheses, design tests to validate or refute them, and quantify all findings (degradation rates, failure mechanisms, performance bounds) while documenting analytical-technique limitations.
- Use DFMEA (Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) as the primary framework for test plan development, ensuring every failure mode has a detection method and test protocol that validates the reliability roadmap.
- Document all test decisions with scientific and cost rationale, avoiding trial-and-error.
2. Infrastructure & Lab Management
- Oversee design, procurement, and scaling of testing facilities and test benches (hardware, electrical, fluidic, and safety systems).
- Establish testing facility operational targets: uptime, data quality, cost per test hour, and capability maturity.
- Ensure all safety aspects are considered during procurement and deployment of testing equipment.
3. Data & Diagnostics
- Implement and manage advanced diagnostics—Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and Cell Voltage Monitoring (CVM)—to analyze performance and map degradation.
- Establish data-quality standards and ensure test data feeds structured analysis pipelines for reliability and design teams.
4. Failure Analysis & Root Cause
- Lead root-cause analysis (RCA) and post-mortem investigations on test articles to identify failure modes and improve stack design.
- Translate test findings into actionable engineering conclusions with documented hypothesis validation.
5. Team Leadership & Development
- Build and mentor a high-performing team of engineers and scientists specializing in electrochemical testing and diagnostics.
- Build a team culture of quantified reasoning, structured technical discourse, and ownership accountability.
- Establish regular technical deep-dive forums where hypotheses are tested, data interpreted rigorously, and design implications debated openly.
6. Communication & Technical Rigor
- Lead structured technical discussions with clear agendas, documented outcomes, and full team participation.
- Set a regular cadence: staff meetings focused on technical deep dives (not status updates); cross-functional syncs with R&D, Manufacturing, and Product; and DFMEA/PFMEA reviews in structured forums.
- Communicate technical decisions and rationale in writing so the team sees the reasoning and can provide input.
- Communicate timelines with specific dates and contingencies, not vague terms like soon, ASAP, or next month.
7. Ownership & Accountability
- Own all aspects of your domain—infrastructure, timelines, staffing, and budgets—with full transparency about achievements and setbacks.
- Communicate with conviction backed by data; when challenges arise, escalate early with clear context rather than hoping to catch up later.
- Model the principle: We will not just do our best, we will get things done.
8. Timeline Management & Execution
- Set realistic timelines with built-in contingency, substantiating any schedule changes with root-cause analysis.
- Track action items rigorously and escalate proactively when setbacks occur or resources are needed.
9. Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner with the Stack Reliability Director on test findings and design implications. Sync regularly with R&D on test requirements, Manufacturing on production readiness, and Product on roadmap alignment.
- Present all findings in structured technical forums with quantified data, not in side conversations.
- Feed diagnostics and test data to the Reliability team for RCA and design feedback.
10. Economic Awareness & Cost Transparency
- Integrate cost and lifecycle economic analysis into technical decisions.
- When proposing infrastructure, facility scaling, or component upgrades, include component-level cost breakdowns and sensitivity analyses.
- Ensure $/performance metrics include unit-cost context to prevent misinterpretation if supplier pricing changes.
Required Qualifications
- B.Tech/M.Tech in Chemical, Materials Science, Metallurgy or Electrochemistry, with 15+ years in electrolyzer stack, battery or fuel cell testing.
- Deep expertise in electrochemistry, characterization techniques (CV, LSV, EIS), testing protocols, safety, and regulatory compliance for electrolyzer/battery systems.
- Proven track record directing engineering teams, interfacing with cross-functional R&D, and managing test-lab budgets.
- Strong data analysis skills, proficiency with reliability tools and statistical software (Minitab, JMP, or equivalent).
- Exceptional communication, leadership, and organizational skills.
- Sound judgment on the limits of diagnostic and characterization tools—avoiding over-interpretation beyond their technical scope.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience building and scaling testing facilities from concept through operational maturity.
- Track record of systematizing team processes and driving measurable improvements.
- Evidence of teaching others scientific reasoning and hypothesis-driven engineering, not just managing tasks.
- Experience with DFMEA and PFMEA methodologies applied to test strategy development.
- Familiarity with renewable energy or electrochemical energy storage systems.
Leadership Philosophy & Cultural Fit
This role requires comfort with:
- Quantified decision-making: decisions backed by data, not opinions.
- Structured communication: technical rigor in staff meetings, written rationale for changes.
- Ownership accountability: transparent reporting of both progress and setbacks.
- Avoiding hope-based planning: planning contingencies, escalating early, not assuming success.
- Continuous scientific learning: staying current on electrochemistry, diagnostics, and failure mechanisms specific to PEM electrolyzers.
This role will not be successful if the candidate:
- Prefers best effort over systematic, accountable delivery, or communicates vaguely on timelines.
- Treats technical deep dives as status meetings, or avoids escalating problems until they become critical.
- Resists decisions on incomplete information, or defaults to trial-and-error over hypothesis-driven engineering.
Success Metrics (18-Month Horizon)
- Qualification plan completed on schedule with documented scientific basis and RCA traceability.
- Facility maturity: >90% uptime, ≥95% data quality, cost per test hour on target.
- Team capability: all reports can independently design test protocols with scientific hypotheses and DFMEA integration.
- RCA closure rate: >85% of design changes traced to root cause; zero high-safety incidents, all protocols audited annually.
