ABOUT AGRATAS
Agratas is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons. We design, develop and manufacture high-quality, high-performance, sustainable batteries applied to multiple use cases in the mobility and energy sectors, to match our customers requirements.
Agratas is a scale-up business with a start-up mentality, driven by our pursuit of green growth and technological progress.
ROLE PROFILE
The Opportunity
Process Engineer Coating
Business Expertise:
Requires understanding of manufacturing operations, quality systems, and how different departments (like R&D, supply chain, and maintenance) work together. Knowledge of industry trends and competitor technologies is essential.
Problem Solving:
Deals with complex issues such as process variability, yield loss, and equipment reliability. Requires analytical thinking, innovation, and adaptability to environmental factors like humidity and material behavior.
Nature & Area of Impact:
Directly impacts production efficiency, quality, and cost. Influences the performance of teams and departments, contributing to business goals and overall competitiveness.
PERSON PROFILE
Key Accountabilities and Responsibilities
Process Design & Optimization: Design
, develop, and optimize the coating process for anode and cathode electrodes using slot-die and gravure coating techniques.- Establish and fine-tune slurry viscosity, solid content, and rheological properties for optimal coatability and film uniformity.
- Define and control critical process parameters, including coating speed, gap settings, drying temperature profile, and web speed.
- Ongoing ownership of key process control points, using data and analysis to drive continuous improvement to product and process.
- Develop the manufacturing process, including the design, control strategy and risk mitigation activity for key areas of the end-to-end production process.
Scale-up & Commissioning: Responsible
for the scale-up mixing equipment to mass production levels.- Support implementation plans and associated actions to ensure compliance with targets for OEE, yield, cycle time and product quality throughout the industrialization lifecycle
Equipment & System Management: Select
, install, and qualify coating equipment, including thickness gauges, drying ovens, and tensioning systems.- Ensure proper roller alignment, web handling stability, and tension control to maintain consistent coating quality.
- Collaborate with vendors and internal teams on equipment calibration, maintenance, and upgrades.
Defect Detection & Mitigation: Identify
and resolve coating-related process issues such as non-uniform coating, coating delamination, edge defects, air bubbles, and surface irregularities.- Monitor process KPIs and lead continuous improvement initiatives to enhance throughput, quality, and cost-efficiency.
Quality & Documentation: Develop
SOPs, process flow diagrams, PFMEAs, control plans, and other quality documentation.- Work closely with the quality team to ensure coating process compliance with internal and external standards.
Cross-functional Collaboration: Collaborate
with teams across materials, cell design, quality assurance, automation, and maintenance to ensure smooth process integration and alignment with product goals.
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
Essential
- Understanding of slot-die, and gravure coating methods, with hands-on experience in adjusting gap settings, coating speed, and slurry viscosity to optimize uniformity.
- Ability to interpret data from thickness gauges, in-line vision inspection systems, and IR sensors to maintain coating consistency.
- Exposure to web handling principles, including tensioning systems, roller alignment, and defect mitigation (e.g., wrinkling, edge cracking).
- Identify and resolve process issues related to coating defects such as non-uniform coating, coating delamination, or irregularities in electrode surface quality.
Desired
- Strong understanding of the properties of materials used in lithium-ion battery electrodes, including the behaviour of slurries, binders, and additives during the coating process.
- Expertise in optimizing coating processes, including the ability to design experiments (DOE) to improve coating uniformity, efficiency, and quality.
- Working knowledge of safety standards related to chemical handling and powder processing (e.g., MSDS, ATEX, NFPA)
- Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills to work effectively with R&D, quality, and production teams
- Understanding of industry standards for lithium-ion cell manufacturing (e.g., ISO, IATF 16949)
Role Specific Qualifications/Certifications
- Bachelors or masters degree in chemical engineering, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field
- 37 years of experience in a manufacturing environment, preferably in battery, chemical, or pharmaceutical industries.
