By Em Jankauski
Seven BattChallenge alums have been hired by Stellantis. We’re featuring Brian Castillo — Stellantis’ new battery validation engineer — who was involved in year one and two of the BattChallenge as Cal State LA & Cerritos College team’s engineering manager.
Let’s catch up with Castillo in a fun Q&A.
***
Q: How did being involved in the BattChallenge prepare you for your role at Stellantis?
A: “(BattChallenge) gave us exposure to in-depth knowledge of subsystems that go into a battery pack, which is instrumental for me. My role puts me to work directly with battery packs. Although they are different battery packs (than what Castillo previously worked on), I feel familiar with the system.”
Q: What made you want to work for Stellantis?
A: “I’ve always had an aspiration to work in the automotive industry. This competition gave me the opportunity to build my knowledge on EVs. Working with Stellantis as a sponsor and meeting passionate people has inspired me to work here. Overall, I see this as an opportunity to build myself and grow professionally as an engineer in the EV industry.”
Q: What’s the coolest or most interesting part about working for Stellantis?
A: “My team — my manager, supervisor and colleagues are the nicest people I’ve met. They’ve been answering all my questions and have been great mentors. I look forward to learning more from them all.”
Q: How does the work you’re doing at Stellantis impact our everyday lives?
A: “I am working at Pilot Operations as a battery validation engineer. My role is to support and oversee battery pack testing such as endurance, environmental and durability testing.
“We are validating all pre-production/prototype battery packs, making sure they properly function and pass all safety testing and requirements before packs enter the production phase for our customers. Ultimately our job is to ensure our battery packs are safe and durable before they enter our production vehicles and reach our customers.”
Q: What advice do you have for current BattChallengers?
A: “My advice to the current BattChallengers is to tackle this challenge head on. Take a role and own that role. Attending workshops is a great way to make an impression on sponsors by networking, taking part of presentations and growing as an engineer.”
***
This is a seven-part series featuring the latest BattChallenge competition to Stellantis talent pipeline hires. All hires include:
- Mahmoud Al Akchar (McMaster University), high voltage charging control engineer
- Isabel Builes (Cal State LA), program manager
- Brian Castillo (Cal State LA), battery validation engineer
- David DeLisle (The Ohio State University), cell product engineer
- Jasper Halford (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology), power electronics design release engineer
- Julian Summers (University of Michigan-Dearborn), propulsion system emissions test engineer
- Chase Williams (University of California, Merced), validation engineer
“We hope most of all that when students come out of this competition, the Battery Workforce Challenge, is that they’re career ready. And what I mean by that is they enter into the workforce in a unique position: they’ve understood our tools, they’ve understood our vehicles, they’ve understood the technology,” said Micky Bly, Stellantis’ senior vice president of propulsion systems. “(The BattChallenge is a) training bed for them to be prepared to be day-one ready for engineering.”
