Materials scientist Jobs in Köln

Job ID: 112213Type of role: Full-timeInterest: Serve Clients / ConsultingSkill group: CSS AssociateRegion: EuropeLocations: Berlin (Germany) | Cologne (Germany) | Dusseldorf (Germany) | Hamburg (Germany) | Munich (Germany) | Munster (Germany) | Nuremberg (Germany) | Stuttgart (Germany)Created: 2026-09-14Apply: https://mckinsey.avature.net/careers/ApplicationMethods?folderId=112213Who you'll work withDriving lasting impact and building long-term capabilities with our clients is not easy work. You are the kind of person who thrives in a high performance/high reward culture - doing hard things, picking yourself up when you stumble, and having the resilience to try another way forward. In return for your drive, determination, and curiosity, we'll provide the resources, mentorship, and opportunities you need to become a stronger leader faster than you ever thought possible. Your colleagues—at all levels—will invest deeply in your development, just as much as they invest in delivering exceptional results for clients. Every day, you'll receive apprenticeship, coaching, and exposure that will accelerate your growth in ways you won’t find anywhere else. When you join us, you will have: Continuous learning: Our learning and apprenticeship culture, backed by structured programs, is all about helping you grow while creating an environment where feedback is clear, actionable, and focused on your development. The real magic happens when you take the input from others to heart and embrace the fast-paced learning experience, owning your journey.A voice that matters: From day one, we value your ideas and contributions. You’ll make a tangible impact by offering innovative ideas and practical solutions, all while upholding our unwavering commitment to ethics and integrity. We not only encourage diverse perspectives, but they are critical in driving us toward the best possible outcomes.Global community: With colleagues across 65+ countries and over 100 different nationalities, our firm’s diversity fuels creativity and helps us come up with the best solutions for our clients. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from exceptional colleagues with diverse backgrounds and experiences.World-class benefits: On top of a competitive salary (based on your location, experience, and skills), we provide a comprehensive benefits package to enable holistic well-being for you and your family.What you'll doYou will lead high-impact client engagements to shape, industrialize, and scale organizations across the entire battery value chain. You will play an active role in client problem-solving and serve as a strategic advisor, driving workstreams specifically focused on battery cell industrialization, the launch and ramp-up of gigafactories, and executing at-scale projects for automotive customers or on driving the architectural vision and design program management for next-generation battery packs. Your work will help companies unlock rapid growth, overcome complex operational obstacles, and successfully emerge as market leaders in this dynamic energy transition landscape. You will make an impact on the global transition to reversing climate change by acting as the definitive technical voice on battery pack architecture or on gigafactory ramp up. You will advise a range of global automotive, cell manufacturing, and start-up clients on their most pressing challenges. This includes guiding executive decisions on battery pack strategies, design key performance indicators (KPIs), architecture trade-offs, advanced engineering decisions, industrialization, validation and homologation aspects, and design-for-manufacturing at scale. You will be based in one of our European or US offices as part of our Operations practice and our battery accelerator team. This team assists our clients in solving complex operational challenges, driving holistic interventions in performance, capabilities, and organizational health to help companies reach their full potential.Your backgroundUndergraduate degree; Advanced graduate degree (e.g., MBA, PhD, etc.) in mechanical, electrical, chemical, or automotive engineering is preferred5+ years of senior manager, director or vice president level experience with a battery cell manufacturer, EV automotive manufacturers, mobility start-ups, engineering service providers, or research laboratoriesExtensive expertise and a proven track record in battery cell industrialization, including the launch and ramp-up of gigafactories for at-scale automotive customer projects, consumer electronics, and/or Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) or in battery pack design for passenger cars and commercial vehicles, with the curiosity for technical details and ideally a track record of guiding battery pack designs from initial concept to commercial launchDeep technical understanding of the entire production process, from electrode manufacturing to end-of-line testing, with hands-on experience resolving major shortfalls across construction, installation, commissioning, and ramp-up (including yield, availability, and performance) or strong knowledge of detailed battery pack costing, including cell-to-module and cell-to-pack (C2P) implications on bill of materials and assembly or manufacturing costsSolid experience in the multi-physical simulation of thermal, electrical, and mechanical aspects of battery systems, including vibration, thermal profiles, and electrical isolationComprehensive knowledge of material selection for battery packs, ranging from structural metal alloys to advanced adhesives, thermal interface materials, and sealantsUnderstanding of battery management system (BMS) design, including software architecture and critical algorithms for state-of-health and core safety functionsExpertise in safety design and design-for-manufacturing (DFM) principles, including thermal runaway triggers, safety regulations, failure modes, and end-of-line reworkInsights into supplier landscape and selection for battery pack componentsAbility to travel to and work in varying environments that may be challenging and/or not accessible (e.g., factories, hospitals, mines)Strong communication skills, both verbal and written, in English and the local office language(s), with the ability to communicate complex technical ideas effectively and adjust your style to suit different perspectives and seniority levels.