STAFF R&D
ENGINEER

Staff R&D Engineer

Classification: Salary exempt

Reports to: Principal Technology Development Engineer

 

About Air Energy, Inc.

Air Energy is an energy storage platform company developing solid-state lithium-air batteries to deliver transformational improvements in energy density, safety, and mission capability for aerial and autonomous platforms and back-up AI power resilience systems.
We were founded on a simple conviction: the limits of electric flight, autonomy, and resilient power aren't set by physics — they're set by batteries. Lithium-ion technology is nearing its ceiling, and incremental gains can no longer unlock the step-change performance required for long-range drones, electric aviation, and mission-critical power systems operating far from the grid. Air Energy exists to break through that ceiling.

 

Born from a breakthrough in solid-state lithium-air science, we're pioneering a new class of batteries designed to deliver nearly 4x the energy density of today's best lithium-ion cells, while improving safety, sustainability, and system-level resilience. By eliminating the need to carry oxygen internally, our architecture dramatically reduces inactive mass — enabling lighter platforms, longer endurance, and entirely new mission profiles. This is a platform shift: it will unlock capabilities such as multi-day autonomous maritime surveillance, long-range cargo drones, persistent aerial communications, electric regional aviation, and resilient backup power for critical infrastructure and AI data centers.

 

We are execution-driven, moving from validated science to real-world cells, pilot manufacturing, and full-system integration in partnership with government and commercial leaders. Air Energy is a Public Benefit Corporation because our mission goes beyond performance metrics and financial returns — we're building foundational energy technology to catalyze energy resilience and independence at scale. For more information, visit airenergy.io.

 

Purpose of the Role

The Staff R&D Engineer is a senior technical leader on Air Energy's cell-development team, setting research direction for one of our core workstreams—lithium metal anode, solid-state electrolyte, or metal-air cathode—and driving it from mechanism-level understanding through full-cell integration. Beyond hands-on development, you'll shape the experimental roadmap, mentor R&D engineers, and serve as a technical anchor across workstreams as we scale the chemistry.

 

Core Responsibilities

• Set and own the technical roadmap for a core cell-chemistry workstream (anode, solid electrolyte, or cathode), from hypothesis through full-cell validation

• Design, build, and test electrochemical cells (coin, pouch, or custom air-breathing formats) and lead interpretation of results to connect data to mechanism

• Lead root-cause investigation and rapid iteration on materials, formulations, and interfaces, in partnership with failure analysis

• Drive cross-workstream integration decisions on full-cell design, and partner with process and prototyping engineering on manufacturability

• Mentor and provide technical direction to R&D engineers; review experimental design and data quality across the team

• Author and strengthen the team's growing IP portfolio through invention disclosures and patent filings

• Represent R&D in technical and design reviews with a PhD-heavy team and cross-functional stakeholders

• Handle lithium metal and other air/moisture-sensitive materials safely in glovebox and dry-room environments, and set handling best practices for the team

• Support qualification of new cell materials through benchmarking and characterization

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Note: This position supports U.S. Government–funded research programs. Applicants must be U.S. persons (U.S. citizens or nationals, lawful permanent residents, or protected individuals under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)) or be eligible for any required U.S. Government authorization before starting work.

 

Key Deliverables/Outcomes

​Success in this role will be measured by:

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• A defined technical roadmap for your workstream that delivers measurable progress toward full-cell validation milestones

• Cell build-and-test programs executed with results that clearly connect data to mechanism, informing next-generation formulation decisions

• Root-cause investigations closed with corrective direction that measurably improves target cell metrics (e.g., cycle life, Coulombic efficiency, interfacial resistance, ionic conductivity, or ORR/OER performance)

• Cross-workstream integration decisions made and documented, with manufacturability considerations incorporated in partnership with process/prototyping engineering

• R&D engineers mentored effectively, with improved experimental design rigor and data quality across the team

• Invention disclosures and patent filings authored, strengthening the team's IP portfolio

• Credible representation of R&D findings in technical and design reviews with PhD-heavy and cross-functional stakeholders

• Zero safety incidents; safe-handling best practices for reactive, air/moisture-sensitive materials established and adopted by the team

Compensation

The target base salary range for this position is $130,000–$150,000, with placement within the range based on experience, qualifications, and level at hire. Compensation may also include equity participation and performance-based incentives, in addition to the benefits summarized below.