Senior Engineer, Mechanical Design at QuantumScape

Job description

QuantumScape is on a mission to transform energy storage with solid-state lithium-metal battery technology. The company’s next-generation batteries are designed to enable greater energy density, faster charging and enhanced safety to support the transition away from legacy energy sources toward a lower carbon future. About the team : The Hardware and Automation team at QuantumScape is a multidisciplinarygroup of systems, hardware, controls, and automation engineers responsible for designing,developing, and deploying first‑of‑kind manufacturing equipment that enables the scale‑up ofsolid‑state battery technology. The team owns equipment solutions from early concept andspecification through build, validation, and production readiness, working in close partnership withcell design, process engineering, metrology, data automation, and operations. The team pridesitself on hands‑on engineering, rigorous problem solving, and delivering scalable, reliableautomation in highly constrained and high‑ambiguity manufacturing environments. What we need: The Hardware, Automation, and Metrology team is seeking a Senior Engineer, Mechanical Design, who is deeply experienced in automation equipment design and motivated by building first-of-a-kind manufacturing tools from concept to production. In this role, you will own the mechanical design of custom automation equipment across the full lifecycle—from early concept and prototyping through detailed design, build, FAT/SAT, and handoff to manufacturing—while working closely with systems, controls, electrical, process, and EHS partners. You will play a critical role in defining mechanical architecture, managing design risk, and ensuring designs are robust, manufacturable, serviceable, and safe. Given the complexity and novelty of our equipment, we are looking for someone who is hands-on, comfortable operating in ambiguity, and excited to help define best practices and standards for mechanical design within HAM. This opportunity offers significant technical ownership, cross-functional influence, and the ability to shape how advanced automation equipment is designed and scaled at QuantumScape. If you enjoy solving hard mechanical problems, mentoring others, and delivering real hardware that matters, we’d like to hear from you. What You’ll do: • Lead the mechanical design and development of critical, first of a kind automation and process equipment supporting QuantumScape’ s next generation energy storage technology. • Own mechanical design scope end to end, from early concept definition through detailed design, build, qualification, and handoff to manufacturing, with accountability for technical decisions, risk mitigation, and design readiness. • Drive hands on mechanical design, prototyping, and validation to identify scalable, robust solutions suitable for volume production. • Define mechanical architecture, subsystem interfaces, and design approaches while incorporating DFM/DFA, reliability, maintainability, and safety considerations. • Partner closely with systems, controls, electrical, process, manufacturing, and EHS teams to deliver integrated equipment solutions across all phases of the design lifecycle, including specifications, design reviews, prototyping, assembly, testing, FAT/SAT, and continuous improvement. • Provide technical leadership within the mechanical design function by mentoring engineers, influencing best practices, and helping shape mechanical design standards across HAM. Skills You’ll Need: • Master’s degree or equivalent in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related field with typically 3+ years of relevant industry or applied engineering experience, or a Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of progressively responsible mechanical engineering experience; Ph.D.with no experience. • Deep, hands-on expertise in mechanism, hardware, and automation equipment design, including ownership of complex mechanical systems. • Practical experience with component manufacturing methods, includin