Director Manufacturing - Cell Assembly

Are you an experienced leader with extensive knowledge of the manufacturing industry? Would you like to play a key role in one of Europe’s most exciting industrial projects?

We’re building a state-of-the-art Gigafactory that will be one of the largest cell production facilities in Europe and are now looking for a Director to build and lead our Cell Assembly Department.

NOVO energy

Volvo Cars is one of the most well-known and respected car brands in the world. Northvolt is a leading supplier of sustainable, high-quality battery cells and systems, dedicated to delivering the world’s greenest lithium-ion battery. Together, we have formed a joint venture, NOVO Energy, to power the next generation of pure electric Volvo and Polestar cars.

The role

As the Director Manufacturing - Cell Assembly you’ll play an integral role in building, developing, and leading the teams responsible for the technically challenging process of cell assembly.

This key-step in the manufacturing of battery cells will see you work at the intersection of advanced manufacturing and high-end engineering.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Manufacturing, you will play a pivotal role in building our Cell Assembly department from scratch - and readying the teams for Start-of-Production in 2026.

In this multi-facetted role, you will have the opportunity to establish and run a world-class manufacturing line, collaborate with incredible people, and ultimately produce the world’s most sustainable Li-Ion batteries.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Lead and develop the manufacturing teams in line with NOVO Energy’s mission, vision, and values.
• Lead in accordance with NOVO Energy Management and Excellence system.
• Secure that the Department manufacture according to requested specifications and volume plan.
• Ensure the department have the correct competence, tools, resources and equipment to meet demands.
• Ensure a safe production environment for all employees.
• Secure that the Department act immediately on deviations towards requested results. Identify root causes, correct them, and capture concerned products.
• Support that the introduction of new products, processes and instructions are launched and enacted on in due time and compliant with demands.
• Secure that the Department delivers within agreed budget, resource, and cost commitments.

Skills & Requirements

To be successful in this role you need to have 10+ years’ experience from leadership roles in automotive, process or other technical manufacturing industries. You have a proven leadership capabilities and are execution oriented. The importance of leading by example in a new organization is self-evident to you, and you operate with a high level of integrity under pressure. As a person you are structured, organized and meticulous with excellent communication skills. You always strive to improve with focus on safety, quality, environment, and production efficiency.

Part from that we see that you have the following competences:

• MSc or corresponding knowledge.
• Experience from Industrial start-up projects
• Strong knowledge in Lean, FMEA, Process Capability and problem-solving methods.
• Professional level fluency in English (Eng6 or equivalent)
• Able to organize teams and competences on short notice.
• Able to efficiently sort and prioritize between tasks.
• Analytical and fact based when making decisions.
• Strong risk management abilities.

What’s in it for you?

This is a key position in a rapidly scaling organization full of passionate people. Few industries offer as great opportunity for career growth and personal development as the new European battery industry. Joining us, you’ll help build the foundations of a forward-looking industry set to create thousands of highly skilled jobs along major societal, economic and environmental contributions.

If you’re an experienced leader, longing for a greener future and ready for a major challenge we’d love to hear from you.

Volvo Cars is one of the most well-known and respected car brands in the world. Northvolt is a leading supplier of sustainable, high-quality battery cells and systems, dedicated to delivering the world’s greenest lithium-ion battery. Together, we have formed a joint venture, NOVO Energy, to power the next generation of pure electric Volvo and Polestar cars.

Our Gigafactory in Gothenburg will be one of the largest cell production facilities in Europe, with a potential annual cell production capacity of up to 50 gigawatt hours (GWh) - thereby enabling a supply of batteries for approximately half a million Volvo and Polestar cars per year. Our state-of-the-art R&D facility will gather leading expertise from all over the world, to create the next generation battery cells.

You can read more about this joint venture in these press releases, here and here.