Find Your Next Battery Recycling Specialist Job

Battery recycling specialist is a broad title spanning the entire end-of-life and manufacturing-scrap battery supply chain. Depending on the role and company, day-to-day work might involve:

• • Battery intake & triage: Receiving packs and modules from OEMs, dealers, and EOL collectors; sorting by chemistry, condition, and state of charge
• • Discharge & disassembly: Safely discharging packs, dismantling modules, and separating cells for downstream processing
• • Pre-processing: Shredding cells in inert atmospheres, screening, and separating black mass from foil, copper, and aluminum
• • Hydrometallurgy & pyrometallurgy: Leaching, solvent extraction, precipitation, smelting, and refining black mass into battery-grade lithium, nickel, and cobalt products
• • Quality & analytics: Running ICP-OES, XRF, XRD, and SEM-EDS analyses to verify product purity and process performance
• • Logistics & compliance: Coordinating hazmat shipping (DOT 49 CFR, IATA, IMDG), RCRA compliance, and (in the EU) Battery Regulation 2023 reporting
• • Plant operations: Running shifts safely, maintaining throughput, and continuously improving recovery yields

Qualifications vary widely by sub-discipline. Battery recycling is one of the few EV-adjacent fields with strong paths for both degreed engineers and skilled trades / operations professionals:

• • Engineering roles: BS, MS, or PhD in Chemical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemistry, or Mechanical Engineering
• • Operations & technician roles: High school + technical training, AS degree, or transferable manufacturing / chemical plant experience
• • Chemistry knowledge: Lithium-ion chemistries (LFP, NMC, NCA), electrochemistry, leaching reactions, solvent extraction principles
• • Process tools: Aspen Plus, METSIM, HSC Chemistry, SuperPro Designer for process modeling; SAP / ERP for operations
• • Analytical tools: ICP-OES, ICP-MS, XRF, XRD, SEM-EDS, AAS, BET; experience interpreting lab reports
• • Safety & compliance: OSHA HAZWOPER (40-hour), RCRA training, DOT hazmat certification, NFPA 70E, MSHA (for some mining-adjacent operations)
• • Standards: US EPA / RCRA, DOT 49 CFR Subchapter C, EU Battery Regulation 2023, China GB / T 33598, ISO 14001 / 45001
• • Soft skills: Comfort working in industrial environments, willingness to wear PPE, strong attention to safety culture

Experience in mining / metallurgy, chemical processing, oil & gas refining, waste management, or battery manufacturing transfers exceptionally well to battery recycling.

Pay varies widely by role type (technician vs engineer vs manager) and location:

Operations & Technician roles:

• • Recycling plant operators / disassembly techs: Typically $20 – $32 / hour ($42K – $67K annually)
• • Lead operators & shift supervisors: Typically $30 – $45 / hour ($62K – $94K annually)

Engineering & specialist roles:

• • Entry-level engineer (0–3 years): Typically $80,000 – $115,000 base salary
• • Mid-level engineer (3–7 years): Typically $110,000 – $160,000 base salary
• • Senior engineer (7–12 years): Typically $150,000 – $215,000 base salary
• • Staff / Principal / Plant Manager (12+ years): Typically $200,000 – $290,000+ base salary

Hydrometallurgy experts, plant managers at greenfield gigafactories, and senior process engineers tend to command the highest packages. Equity is common at well-funded startups (Redwood, Ascend Elements, Li-Cycle). Browse current listings for specific ranges.

Battery recycling specialists are recruited across pure-play recyclers, OEM-owned operations, metals majors, and emerging direct-recycling startups:

• • Pure-play EV battery recyclers: Redwood Materials, Li-Cycle, Ascend Elements, Cirba Solutions, American Battery Solutions, Princeton NuEnergy
• • Direct recycling & advanced recovery startups: Nth Cycle, Aqua Metals, ReCell, Princeton NuEnergy, Element 25, Aleon Renewable Metals
• • Global metals & chemicals majors: Glencore, Umicore, BASF, Solvay, Sumitomo Metal Mining, Korea Zinc, JX Nippon, BHP
• • Battery makers with in-house recycling: Northvolt Revolt, SK Tes (SK On), LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, CATL (Brunp), BYD, EVE, Hithium
• • OEM-led recycling programs: Tesla (internal), Volkswagen Salzgitter, Mercedes-Benz Kuppenheim, Ford (with Redwood), GM (with Li-Cycle), Stellantis (with Orano)
• • Specialty chemicals & precursors: Aleon, Element 25, EcoPro BM, POSCO Future M, Livent, Albemarle, Sociedad Química y Minera (SQM)
• • Waste management majors: Veolia, Suez, Waste Management, Stena Recycling, Heritage Environmental
• • Engineering consultancies: Wood Plc, Hatch, Worley, Fluor, Bechtel (for large recycling plant builds)

The Inflation Reduction Act, EU Battery Regulation 2023, and growing EOL battery volumes have created exceptional demand. Greenfield recycling plants are being built across North America, Europe, and Asia at unprecedented pace.

Specialists from mining, metals refining, chemical processing, oil & gas, and waste management transition exceptionally well into battery recycling:

• • Identify your bridge: Mining & metallurgy → hydromet / pyromet. Oil & gas refining → solvent extraction. Chemical plant operations → recycling plant operations. Waste management / hazmat → EOL battery logistics. Cell manufacturing → manufacturing-scrap recycling
• • Build battery-specific knowledge: Understand LFP vs NMC vs NCA chemistries, black mass composition, and target end-product specs (battery-grade lithium carbonate / hydroxide, nickel sulfate, cobalt sulfate)
• • Master the regulations: Read US EPA's Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling resources, the EU Battery Regulation 2023, China's GB / T standards, and DOT 49 CFR for transport
• • Get safety-certified: OSHA HAZWOPER 40-hour, DOT hazmat shipping, NFPA 70E, and high-voltage battery handling certifications are commonly required
• • Learn the process flows: Study published flowsheets from Umicore, Redwood, Li-Cycle, and Ascend Elements; Argonne National Lab's ReCell Center publishes excellent open research
• • Build a portfolio: A capstone or thesis on a battery-recovery process, hydromet leaching study, or LCA of recycling pathways stands out
• • Network strategically: The International Battery Seminar, Battery Show North America & Europe, ICBR (International Congress for Battery Recycling), SAE Battery Show, and TMS Annual Meeting are major recruiting venues

Battery recycling hiring is concentrated where recycling plants are being built — often near battery gigafactories, mining-friendly states, or port cities for global feedstock:

• • Nevada: Redwood Materials (Carson City / Storey County) — North America's largest pure-play recycler
• • Kentucky: Ascend Elements (Hopkinsville), growing recycling cluster in the Battery Belt
• • Massachusetts: Ascend Elements HQ (Westborough), Nth Cycle (Beverly), research labs
• • New York / Pennsylvania: Li-Cycle (Rochester, NY), Cirba Solutions, growing East Coast capacity
• • Alabama / Tennessee / Georgia: Battery Belt manufacturing scrap streams; Li-Cycle Tuscaloosa, AL
• • Ohio & Michigan: Cirba Solutions (Lancaster, OH; Trail, BC), legacy Big 3 EV ecosystem
• • Texas: Growing recycling presence near Tesla and other Texas-based EV makers
• • Canada: Ontario (Li-Cycle, Cirba), Quebec (Lithion Recycling), BC (Cirba)
• • Europe: Belgium (Umicore Hoboken), Sweden (Northvolt Revolt), Germany (Mercedes-Benz Kuppenheim, BASF Schwarzheide), Norway (Hydrovolt), France (Eramet), Finland (Fortum)
• • Asia: Ningde & Foshan (CATL Brunp), Yancheng (GEM), Pohang (POSCO, SungEel HiTech), Tokyo (JX Nippon)

Most battery recycling roles are on-site or hybrid because of plant operations. Process engineering, R&D, LCA, and compliance roles sometimes offer more remote flexibility.