Quality Director at Lyten

Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

03 Oct, 26

Salary

0.0

Posted On

05 Jul, 26

Experience

10 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Quality Strategy, QMS Design, Supplier Quality Management, ISO 9001, APQP, PPAP, FMEA, SPC, CAPA, Root Cause Analysis, Executive Leadership, Customer Quality Management, Budget Management, Change Management, Regulatory Compliance, Six Sigma

Industry

Manufacturing

Description

Lyten is leading an industrial revolution through Lyten 3D Graphene™, a breakthrough supermaterial unlocking a new generation of products — from lithium–sulfur batteries and energy storage systems to concrete admixtures, lightweight composites, and next-generation sensors that are revolutionizing industries. Together, these innovations are making a massive global improvement and driving real-world impact across energy, mobility, construction, and defense. At Lyten, we believe the most meaningful careers begin with purpose — and with people who want to make a difference. We’re not just developing advanced supermaterials — we’re about to change the world as we know it, reshaping how energy is stored, how products are built, and how progress is made. We’re entering an exciting growth phase, scaling production across the U.S. and Europe and expanding our team of engineers, scientists, and innovators. Apply now to join our team and be part of something bigger than yourself — where collaboration, creativity, and purpose come together to build the technologies that will define the next century. Lyten is the Supermaterial Applications Company, pioneering 3D Graphene™ and Lithium-Sulfur battery technology to power the next industrial revolution. As we scale our Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Business Unit, quality is the gateway to every customer, every certification, and every market we enter. As Quality Director, you are the executive owner of quality across the entire BESS Business Unit. You will build the Quality function from a start-up reality into a world-class organization capable of meeting the expectations of BESS, defense, aerospace, and industrial customers operating in regulated, safety-critical environments. Reporting directly to the CEO, you will define and execute the BESS quality strategy, build and lead the full quality organization (covering process, supplier, incoming/outgoing, engineering, lab, customer quality, and quality development), and act as the primary quality voice to customers, certification bodies, and regulators. You are also accountable for the design, deployment, and continuous evolution of our Integrated Management System (IMS) and Quality Management System (QMS) frameworks. You move quality beyond a 'gatekeeper' function to a strategic capability that accelerates the business — enabling faster product launches, stronger customer trust, and a defensible competitive moat. Above all, you will build a quality culture across every level of the organization — making quality a shared responsibility rather than a function delegated to a single team. You are not the only one responsible for quality; you make everyone responsible for quality. Key Responsibilities Strategy & Vision: • Define the BESS Business Unit quality strategy in alignment with company-wide objectives, customer requirements, and regulatory landscape; translate it into a multi-year quality roadmap with clear milestones and KPIs. • Position the Quality function as a strategic enabler of business growth — not a bottleneck — by aligning quality investments with product launches, customer expectations, and market entry priorities. • Establish and own the BESS quality vision: 'quality is built in, not inspected in,' with measurable cultural and operational targets. • Represent the Quality function at the executive leadership level, ensuring quality considerations are embedded in strategic decisions on product, customers, suppliers, and partnerships. Quality Culture & Organizational Leadership: • Build a quality culture across every level of the organization, embedding shared ownership of quality outcomes from frontline operators through engineering teams to leadership. • Develop and execute change management programs that shift the organization from a 'compliance' mindset to a 'care and ownership' culture, where quality is everyone's responsibility. • Design and lead recurring quality forums (quality councils, lessons-learned reviews, quality town halls) that build cross-functional ownership and celebrate quality wins. • Personally model and reinforce quality behaviors: visible presence on the shop floor, hands-on engagement with frontline teams, transparent communication of quality status to all levels. • Coach senior leaders across Operations, R&D, Supply Chain, and Commercial on how to build quality into their respective functions — transferring ownership rather than centralizing it. Quality Organization Build-Out: • Build, structure, and scale the BESS Quality organization across the full quality value chain — from supplier quality and incoming control, through process and product quality on the shop floor, to customer quality and quality development functions. • Recruit, develop, and retain top quality talent; build a high-performance team with deep manufacturing, materials, and customer-facing capabilities. • Define quality roles, responsibilities, capability frameworks, and career paths; invest in continuous development to grow internal expertise as the business scales. • Drive team performance through annual talent reviews, succession planning, and identification of emerging talent. • Define, plan, and execute the Quality department budget, including investments in lab equipment, quality systems, certifications, and external expertise. Customer Quality & External Representation: • Act as the primary executive quality interface with customers (BESS, defense, aerospace, industrial), ensuring their quality requirements are understood, committed to, and consistently delivered. • Lead customer quality audits, customer-specific quality submissions, and serve as the senior escalation point for customer complaints and quality issues. • Build customer trust through transparent quality reporting, proactive issue communication, and disciplined corrective action delivery. • Represent Lyten BESS at industry quality forums, certification bodies, and regulatory engagements; build the company's reputation as a quality-led manufacturer. • Partner with Commercial and Business Development teams to position Lyten's quality capabilities as a competitive differentiator in customer proposals and partnership discussions. Supplier Quality: • Define and own the Supplier Quality strategy across the BESS BU — covering cells, electronic and electrical components, mechanical and structural components, sub-assemblies, and strategic service providers. • Establish supplier qualification, audit, and performance management frameworks that ensure incoming material and component quality meets BESS product specifications. • Lead supplier development programs in collaboration with Supply Chain and Engineering, building strategic supplier capability rather than relying solely on incoming inspection. • Drive root cause analysis and corrective action on supplier-driven quality issues, holding suppliers accountable through measurable performance metrics. Process & Product Quality: • Own end-to-end product and process quality across the BESS value chain, from module and pack assembly through rack and full system integration and final acceptance testing. • Define and deploy quality control plans, in-process inspection strategies, statistical process control (SPC) frameworks, and final acceptance criteria. • Lead the design and execution of the quality engineering function, including PFMEA, control plans, MSA, and capability studies. • Drive a robust nonconformity management and CAPA process, ensuring every quality issue is captured, investigated, resolved, and verified for effectiveness. • Champion First Pass Yield, Cost of Poor Quality, and Customer PPM as primary operating metrics; embed them into the operational rhythm of the business. Certifications & Compliance: • Sponsor and own the certification roadmap for the BESS Business Unit, with ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 as the foundational set; progress toward sector-specific frameworks (e.g., AQAP and other NATO/defense-grade standards, AS9100, or other customer-required frameworks as the business demands). • Own the design, deployment, and continuous evolution of the Integrated Management System (IMS) and Quality Management System (QMS) frameworks for the BESS BU, ensuring the system architecture supports business growth, audit readiness, and certification objectives. • Act as senior management representative for IMS-related external audits, certification body engagements, and customer quality system audits. • Ensure quality compliance with all applicable regulatory frameworks (EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542, UN 38.3, IEC 62619, and others relevant to BESS products and target markets). Quality Performance & Continuous Improvement: • Establish the quality performance framework for the BESS Quality organization: define the strategic quality KPIs, build the measurement and reporting infrastructure, and ensure the framework cascades from BU level to site and team level. • Ensure quality KPIs and targets are linked to BESS BU objectives and broader Lyten corporate goals — quality performance is measured and communicated as a contributor to business outcomes, not as an isolated function. • Establish a balanced scorecard of Leading and Lagging quality indicators that gives leadership early warning of quality risks, not just retrospective failure reports; ensure alignment with BESS BU and Lyten-wide KPI architecture. • Drive systematic root cause analysis (8D, 5-Whys, Ishikawa, Fault Tree Analysis) on major quality events, ensuring corrective actions address causes - not symptoms - and are verified for effectiveness. • Champion quality-driven continuous improvement initiatives in close partnership with Operations and (when established) the Continuous Improvement function. Cross-Functional Leadership: • Partner with R&D, Manufacturing Operations, and Manufacturing Engineering to embed Design for Quality, Design for Reliability, and Design for Manufacturability principles into the product development process from concept onward. • Partner with Manufacturing Operations to ensure shop floor quality discipline, process capability, and operator empowerment, while respecting Operations' ownership of production execution. • Partner with Supply Chain on supplier selection, qualification, and performance management. • Partner with the HSE Manager on areas where Quality and HSE intersect — in particular battery safety (where product or process nonconformities can translate into safety hazards) and the control of chemical, thermal, and electrical risks within manufacturing processes — ensuring clear ownership of overlapping procedures and aligned response to incidents. Self-Management: • Lead by Example: Act as a visible role model for quality leadership; spend time on the shop floor, in the lab, and in customer engagements every week to build trust and credibility. • Agility & Resilience: Demonstrate a high degree of adaptability in a fast-paced start-up environment, maintaining focus and a positive 'can-do' attitude during periods of ambiguity or rapid change. • Strategic Self-Drive: Take full ownership of the BESS quality agenda; proactively identify what needs to be done without waiting for external direction. • Operational Flexibility: Be prepared to pivot between executive-level strategy and hands-on quality engineering, customer escalations, or supplier site visits as the business requires. • Be a role model, develop self-awareness, practice sustainable leadership, and foster a growth mindset. • Perform other tasks assigned by the manager to support the company's growth and evolving needs. Requirements • University degree in Engineering, Materials Science, Quality Management, or a related technical field; advanced degree (MSc, MBA) is a strong advantage • 12+ years of progressive experience in Quality leadership roles within a manufacturing environment (battery, automotive, aerospace, defense, or other regulated high-tech sectors strongly preferred) • Proven track record of leading a Quality function at the Director level or above, with full P&L responsibility for the Quality budget and accountability to executive leadership • Demonstrated experience building and scaling Quality organizations from a start-up or scale-up reality — not just maintaining mature operations • Hands-on experience driving ISO 9001 certification, with proven exposure to IATF 16949, AS9100, AQAP, or equivalent regulated-sector frameworks • Deep operational knowledge of Core Quality Tools: APQP, PPAP, FMEA, MSA, SPC, Control Plans, and 8D problem solving • Strong customer-facing experience, including direct engagement with defense primes, aerospace, or industrial customers on quality matters • Demonstrated experience building quality culture across all organizational levels — from shop floor to executive leadership • Battery sector experience (cell, module, pack, or BESS) is a significant advantage; failing that, deep experience in another regulated, safety-critical manufacturing sector (automotive, aerospace, medical, defense) is required • Greenfield or start-up experience, comfortable building Quality frameworks from scratch (strong advantage) • Exceptional executive communication and influencing skills; ability to credibly represent the company to customers, certification bodies, regulators, and the board • Demonstrated leadership maturity: ability to build and lead multi-disciplinary teams, develop talent, and operate effectively in an executive peer group Specific skills • Fluent English (C1/C2); additional European languages are a plus given Lyten's multi-site European footprint • Certified Lead Auditor for ISO 9001 • Six Sigma Black Belt or Master Black Belt certification is a significant advantage • Familiarity with EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542, UN 38.3, IEC 62619, and other battery-specific regulatory frameworks is a strong advantage • Working proficiency with enterprise ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Oracle NetSuite, IFS, or equivalent) • Practical experience in applying World Class Manufacturing standards (PDCA, FMEA, 5S, Visual Management, RCA, SPC, Poka-Yoke) Why Work at Lyten At Lyten, you’ll be part of a team that’s redefining what’s possible in energy, materials, and manufacturing. We’re not just imagining the future — we’re building it today with breakthrough technologies that are changing how products are made and how industries innovate. Our people are the heart of that mission. From world-class scientists and engineers to creative problem-solvers in operations, manufacturing, and commercialization, every member of the Lyten team plays a role in turning bold ideas into real-world impact. We believe that the best work happens when you’re doing great things in the world — with people you like. Collaboration, curiosity, and a shared sense of purpose drive everything we do. What You’ll Find at Lyten A mission that matters: Contribute directly to solving complex challenges in energy, mobility, and materials innovation. Cutting-edge innovation: Work on technologies at the intersection of materials science, energy storage, and advanced manufacturing that strengthen energy security and local supply chains. Extraordinary people: Join a team of talented, friendly, and down-to-earth innovators who support, challenge, and inspire one another every day. Teamwork and culture: Experience a workplace built on trust, respect, and shared success — where collaboration fuels breakthroughs and everyone’s ideas are heard. Global impact: Help scale new materials and energy solutions that reinforce industrial resilience across the U.S. and Europe. Career growth: Be part of a fast-moving company entering a commercial growth phase, with opportunities to lead, learn, and make your mark. Purpose-driven values: Thrive in an environment that celebrates ingenuity, optimism, and meaningful progress — together. Lyten offers the opportunity to do the most important work of your career — helping build the technologies that will power the next century of innovation. Join us, and help transform industries, communities, and the planet with friends who share your drive to make a difference. Founded in 2015 in Silicon Valley, California, Lyten is transforming the future of energy and materials innovation to build a stronger, more resilient world. Our breakthrough innovation, Lyten 3D Graphene™, is a brand-new supermaterial that enables the creation of products that perform better and cost less. Lyten is rapidly scaling operations across the U.S. and Europe. Our lithium–sulfur (Li-S) batteries—free from nickel, manganese, cobalt, and graphite—deliver higher energy density and lighter weight while enabling a more secure, independent supply chain and a next-generation alternative to traditional lithium-ion chemistry. The acquisition of Northvolt’s assets in California, Poland, Sweden, and Germany has established a strong foundation for Lyten’s global energy storage growth, including Europe’s largest Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) manufacturing facility. Beyond battery systems, Lyten’s platform technology extends to high-performance concrete admixtures, advanced composites, adhesives, and sensors, redefining material performance across industries from automotive and aerospace to construction and defense. Lyten has raised over $625 million in equity and received support from the U.S. Export-Import Bank to provide up to $650 million in financing for international customer energy storage projects. Recognized as one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Energy Companies,” one of TIME’s “Top Green Technology Companies,” and a Silicon Valley Defense Group Top 100 National Security Company, Lyten is leading the next wave of high-performance materials and energy systems that enhance energy security and supply chain resilience. Our lithium–sulfur batteries have been selected to power Chrysler’s Halcyon Concept EV. Behind every Lyten innovation is a world-class team of scientists, engineers, and business leaders from some of the most respected technology, energy, and manufacturing companies — all united by a shared mission to make a lasting global impact. We’re entering an exciting growth phase — expanding production, launching new products, and hiring exceptional talent across engineering, operations, manufacturing, and commercialization. If you’re ready to shape the next era of advanced materials and product innovation — while working alongside some of the brightest minds in science and engineering — join Lyten and help us build the next industrial revolution.

Responsibilities

The Quality Director will serve as the executive owner of quality for the BESS Business Unit, building a world-class quality organization and culture from the ground up. This role involves defining the quality strategy, managing the Integrated Management System, and acting as the primary quality interface for customers and regulators.