Senior Director of Engineering

Sr Director of Engineering - Graphite Processing

Position Summary:

The Director, Engineering will lead the development of a Target Mass Anode Production Site.

This includes leading conceptual, basic, and detailed design engineering, incorporating safety, efficiency, and scalability from the earliest stages.

The role oversees plant and process design, facilities engineering, commissioning, and infrastructure/utilities, ensuring systems are safe, cost-efficient, and compliant with global standards. Reporting to the COO – Materials and working closely with the EVP Technology \& Product, the Director ensures that all engineering designs and processes meet product performance, quality, and customer requirements prior to commercialization.

This role is also responsible for delivering complex capital projects to support global capacity expansion, including managing EPC/EPCM partners and ensuring projects are completed on time and within budget.

The Director will also be responsible for building and managing a high-performing engineering team that operates in full compliance with global standards, HR policies, and a culture of safety, integrity, and performance.

Key Responsibilities:

1\. Engineering Studies \& Reports Supporting Plant Design

• Lead conceptual, basic, and detailed design engineering for mass production facilities, incorporating safety, efficiency, and scalability from the earliest stages.
• Lead engineering planning and due diligence activities for site selection and expansion, assessing logistics, regulatory, energy, and workforce factors.
• Conduct and oversee engineering studies such as mass and energy balances, process flow diagrams (PFDs), piping and instrumentation diagrams (P\&IDs), and process simulations.
• Support Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) and Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) reports through technical design inputs, cost estimation, and schedule development.
• Serve as the primary engineering interface to EPC and EPCM partners to ensure timely, cost-effective, and specification-compliant design deliverables.
• Define plant layout strategy to optimise equipment flow, utilities access, process safety, and material logistics efficiency.
• Implement sustainability and environmental design principles (e.g., energy reduction, waste minimisation, water reuse, carbon footprint reduction) into plant design.

2\. Facilities Engineering

• Oversee facility design and maintenance for offices, laboratories, pilot areas, and production plants, ensuring compliance with building codes, EHS standards, and future expansion needs.
• Develop master planning for site infrastructure, optimising for current operations and scalable future growth.
• Manage multi-disciplinary engineering functions, including mechanical, electrical, civil, structural, and controls engineering.
• Ensure facilities provide the safety, reliability, and environmental controls necessary for advanced materials production.
• Lead permitting and regulatory compliance activities for facilities and process systems in accordance with applicable standards.

3\. Process Validation \& Commissioning

• Lead the commissioning, qualification, and ramp-up of pilot and production facilities, ensuring safe and efficient startup.
• Achieve full process validation through statistically valid data and 3rd-party verification as required by customers, investors, and regulators.
• Deliver capital projects on time and within approved CapEx budgets while maintaining Opex efficiency through process design optimisation.
• Manage pre-production runs, process capability testing, and submission readiness for Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) audits.
• Collaborate with Manufacturing Operations to ensure handover readiness and stable process control at transition points.
• Establish systems for continuous improvement and lessons learned for future design iterations.

4\. Infrastructure and Utilities

• Design, commission, and manage essential utilities (power, water, HVAC, compressed air, vacuum, nitrogen, waste management, etc.) to meet capacity, sustainability, and redundancy targets.
• Implement monitoring and control systems for utility efficiency, availability, and safety.
• Oversee site EHS systems integration into infrastructure planning (fire suppression, ventilation, spill containment).
• Coordinate service agreements and preventive maintenance programmes to ensure uptime and reliability of all infrastructure assets.

5\. Strategic Projects

• Drive capital project governance and compliance through adherence to the Capital Project Management System, ensuring transparency and disciplined investment.
• Oversee engineering input into joint development projects, customer qualification efforts, and partner facility integrations as part of global supply chain strategy.
• Serve as engineering sponsor for cross-functional strategic initiatives, including digital manufacturing technologies, sustainability programmes, and advanced process control.
• Architect engineering systems with a "design for flexibility" philosophy to ensure seamless integration with 3rd-party technology providers, OEM partner systems, and modular equipment from diverse global vendors.
• Report on major project progress, KPIs, budgets, and ROI to executive leadership.
• Other projects as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Architecture, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum 10–15 years of experience in advanced materials manufacturing, plant and process design, or other industrial manufacturing industries.
• Proven track record in plant design, process scale-up, commissioning, and facility start-up for high-value manufacturing operations.
• Demonstrated success in leading multidisciplinary engineering teams and managing EPC/EPCM partnerships.
• Deep understanding of process safety, reliability engineering, and lifecycle cost management.
• Familiarity with regulatory, permitting, and environmental requirements and international industrial standards.
• Experience implementing or operating within ISO 9001, IATF 16949, and related quality or safety management frameworks.
• Excellent cross-cultural collaboration skills and experience working with international teams.
• Strong strategic thinking, communication, project governance capabilities, and decision-making skills.

Working Conditions:

• International travel required.
• Regular interactions with colleagues across multiple time zones.
• Safety gear/standard PPE required in all factory or production settings.