Staff Electrochemical Systems Architect
Voya Energy · Hayward
Voya Energy is commercializing a groundbreaking metal-based fuel to rapidly deploy reliable, clean, affordable electricity anywhere on Earth. Our breakthrough technology allows us to convert abundant, high-energy, recycled metals into a powerful, safe, durable fuel. We are also creating a foundational new category of energy generation devices, delivering fast access to power, free from the limitations of the grid. We are assembling a highly-experienced team of visionary founders, tenacious researchers, multi-disciplinary first principles engineers, battle-tested operators and world-class investors to deliver on Voya's ambitious mission. Join us in fueling our electric future.
Position Summary:
We are seeking an experienced Staff Electrochemical Systems Architect who will lead the architecture, integration, and performance definition of our metal-fueled power generation platform - from top-level system concept down to individual component and assembly specifications. Across a range of chemical, mechanical, and electrical subsystems, this role will use high-level product requirements to guide technical decisions that define subsystems, interfaces, and overall architectures suitable for deployment across key sectors, including commercial & industrial, digital infrastructure, and energy & utilities.
The ideal candidate has spent a career moving fluidly between big-picture system architecture and the practical details of equipment and component selection - someone who can define how subsystems should interact, predict how a change in one part of the system ripples through performance elsewhere, and translate that understanding into specifications for both commercial off-the-shelf and custom-engineered equipment. Experience from fuel cell, electrolyzer, battery, or electrochemical manufacturing industries - where process systems, equipment specification, applicable codes and standards, and EHS considerations are tightly linked, is highly relevant.
Responsibilities:
Own the end-to-end system architecture for Voya's metal-fuel power generation platform, defining subsystem boundaries, interfaces, and functional allocation across chemical, mechanical, electrical, and controls domains.
Translate top-level product and customer requirements into detailed, testable specifications at the subsystem, assembly, and component level.
Specify, evaluate, and select equipment, including commercial/off-the-shelf components and custom-engineered assemblies, balancing performance, cost, availability, and manufacturability.
Build and maintain a system-level model and source of truth of how components and subsystems interact and influence one another (thermal, fluid, chemical, electrical, and controls), and use that understanding to define expected performance and acceptable operating ranges across the platform's operating envelope.
Own performance/cost tradeoff analyses between different system architectures to define optimal design targets for each subsystem and inform our R&D priorities.
Conduct trade studies and sensitivity analyses to identify design margins, bottlenecks, and failure modes before they reach hardware.
Own models that quantify balance of system cost/performance with project and site level cost and performance.
Lead or support process hazard and safety reviews (e.g., HAZOP, PHA, FMEA) and ensure designs conform to applicable industry codes and standards and Voya's EHS requirements.
Create and maintain system-level documentation, including architecture and block diagrams, P&IDs, interface control documents, and requirement/traceability records.
Identify technical or integration risks, assumptions, and gaps as early as possible, and drive structured efforts to mitigate or resolve them.
Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree or higher in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related technical field.
10+ years of experience in systems engineering, process/equipment engineering, or a similarly multidisciplinary technical role, with demonstrated ownership of system architecture from concept through detailed design.
Direct, hands-on experience specifying, sourcing, and integrating both commercial/off-the-shelf equipment and custom-designed components or assemblies.
Strong grasp of how component and subsystem interactions affect overall system performance, with experience defining and validating performance ranges, tolerances, and operating envelopes.
Background in chemical processing, power generation, or electrochemical hardware (batteries, fuel cells, electrolyzers, etc.) strongly preferred — industries where process systems, equipment specification, and safety/regulatory requirements are closely intertwined.
Working familiarity with relevant industry codes and standards (e.g., ASME, NFPA, IEC, UL, NEC, API, as applicable) and EHS/process safety practices such as HAZOP, LOPA, or PHA.
Experience with CAD tools, P&IDs/PFDs, and engineering documentation best practices; familiarity with process simulation tools (e.g., Aspen Plus/HYSYS) a plus.
Experience with DFM/DFA a plus.
What we offer:
Competitive salary and equity compensation commensurate with experience
Unlimited PTO
100% employer paid medical, dental, and vision coverage
401(k) plan