QA/QC Chemical Engineer

Real Tech, Real Purpose, Real Impact
We’re looking for a sharp, hands-on QA/QC Chemical Engineer – Advanced Materials, to ensure our battery materials consistently meet specifications, working closely with production and R&D teams to uphold high standards. As the bridge between lab analysis and manufacturing excellence, you play a key role in detecting deviations early to maintain Sicona’s product integrity and performance standards.
The role emphasises defining specifications, developing and implementing QA/QC systems for raw materials, intermediates, and final products, while providing feedback loops to the production team to improve process, efficiency, reduce costs, and maintain product quality.

Who We Are
Sicona Battery Technologies (Sicona) develops next-generation silicon-carbon (Si/C) anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, designed to significantly increase energy density and improve fast-charging performance. That’s the kind of breakthrough that gets us out of bed. Check out our website to find out more about our awesome work: https://siconabattery.com.

We’re a team of engineers, researchers, operators, innovators, dreamers, doers and disruptors who believe climate action shouldn’t be slow. Whether it's designing new materials in the lab or scaling them in the plant, we work together to transform battery tech and accelerate the electric mobility revolution with the fast, focused, and fearless energy that defines us.

What You’ll Do
The role is a full-time, permanent position based in Wollongong, NSW (postcode 2500), working across Sicona’s Pilot Plant facility and Research and Development facilities. This role offers a competitive annual salary plus superannuation, which will meet or exceed the current Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT).
This role is responsible for investigating and characterising the chemical and physical properties of Sicona’s advanced battery materials; defining specifications, validating and and monitoring chemical processes to ensure consistent quality and performance in laboratory, pilot plant, and production environments. The successful incumbent will contribute to Sicona’s mission to deliver high performance battery materials at mass market scale, without costing the earth.

1. Process Monitoring and Optimisation
• Monitor pilot plant operations and analyse process outputs to ensure materials meet required standards.
• Assess the effects of process variables (e.g., temperature, nitrogen flow rates, solvent purity, mixing conditions) on material quality and yield.
• Collaborate with internal process engineers and external contractors to identify and implement improvements that increase efficiency and consistency.
• Conduct experiments and provide calculations that guide process optimisation at scale.

2. Quality Assurance & Control (QA/QC)
• Perform quality control tests on production batches to verify that physical, chemical, and performance characteristics meet defined specifications, providing feedback on batch quality to production teams.
• Review and analyse data to identify product failure (out of spec) and undertake experiments to inform root cause analysis decisions. Advise on how product failure can be rectified or overcome.
• Design, implement and validate analytical QA/QC Processes and systems for raw material qualification, intermediary checkpoints, and finished product testing.
• Monitor compliance with internal quality standards and regulatory frameworks by ensuring testing protocols meet industry guidelines and safety requirements.
• Develop and refine Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for QA/QC process design, quality monitoring, and materials handling into scalable validation protocols for production environments, integrating QA/QC processes into chemical process system specifications.
• Oversee external process validation and quality testing with accredited laboratories, ensuring compliance with standards and specifications.
• Evaluate solvent recovery and off-gas emissions (e.g., VOCs) to ensure compliance and system effectiveness.
• Define and maintain specifications for raw materials, intermediates, and final products to ensure consistency and alignment with production requirements.
• Investigate production issues by analysing raw materials, intermediates, and final product samples.
• Identify root causes of impurities or performance issues and trace them back through the process.

3. Specification and Integration of Process Parameters
• Translate laboratory findings into practical process specifications that guide production decision-making.
• Ensure characterisation feedback is integrated into process monitoring and plant operations.
• Support implementation of process modifications to maintain quality, cost-effectiveness, and safety.

4. Data, Reporting, Compliance, other tasks
• Capture and maintain meticulous records of QA/QC results, experimental data, and process production performance metrics.
• Analyse data and prepare clear technical reports and recommendations for management, engineering, and R&D teams.
• Contribute to the development of Intellectual Property (IP) in accordance with company policies.
• Ensure compliance with safety, environmental, and quality regulations in all activities.
• Support material synthesis activities as required to bridge laboratory characterisation with process engineering outcomes.
• Contribute to engineering projects within R&D and production teams, where required.

What You’ll Need to Succeed:
• Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, chemistry, material sciences/engineering or related discipline
• 3+ years relevant industry experience and proven ability to work across interdisciplinary programs / environments.
• An understanding of coating processes, rheology and the effects of material properties on coating performance
• A “figure-it-out” mindset: quick-thinking, solutions-first and adaptable under pressure.
• A collaborator’s spirit and an independent streak: know when to lead, when to ask for help, and when to just get it done.
• Sharp analytical skills and a knack for translating complex data into clear, actionable insights
• A drive to learn, improve, and strive for high impact innovation.
• Whether it’s a spec deviation or a trend in the data, you bring clarity to complexity. You communicate with precision, making sure every quality observation leads to a targeted, practical response

Even Better If You Have
• Understanding of unitary rates (conversion from mols to grams, etc.), good volumetric technique (serial dilutions, titrations, etc.), and materials handling (powder handling, quantitative transfer, balance use, etc.).
• Experience with working in a lab and with analytical techniques and instruments (e.g., x-ray diffraction, particle size distribution analysis, tapped density measurement, inorganic chemical analysis such as atomic absorption spectroscopy or inductively-coupled plasma mass spectroscopy, BET surface area analysis, and electron microscopy)
• An understanding that the role requires operating between a Pilot Plant environment and laboratory setting. This requires wearing relevant PPE at all sites including full hazardous environment PPE in the production environment. The right candidate will have an understanding that a QA/QC laboratory is defined by protocol and a process plant is defined by optimisation.
TO BE CONSIDERED IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU SUBMIT A COVER LETTER WITH YOUR RESUME. For queries contact linda@siconabattery.com