How to apply for Director of Marketing

About Redwood Materials

Redwood Materials, founded in 2017 by JB Straubel (Tesla co-founder and former CTO), is the largest lithium-ion battery recycler in North America. It recovers, refines, and redeploys critical minerals from end-of-life batteries back into the supply chain, and has deployed the world's largest second-life battery project for AI data centers. The company is profitable and operates in a market projected to grow 20 to 50 times over the next decade.

About the role

This director leads a small marketing team and owns the narrative, go-to-market strategy, and digital footprint across all business lines. The role involves working directly with leadership and functional leaders as the company's primary marketing voice, engaging talent, investors, partners, customers, and influential voices. It is a hands-on leadership position at a company scaling fast in a high-growth industry.

A typical day

A typical day might involve meeting with leadership to align on messaging for a new business line, reviewing digital content with your small team, and working on go-to-market plans for a product or partnership. You would likely move between strategy discussions with functional leaders and hands-on execution of marketing materials. The exact rhythm depends on the team and company cadence, so ask about it in interviews.

Who Redwood Materials is looking for

• Experience leading a small marketing team and executing strategy directly, not just managing agencies or large departments.
• Background in product marketing and brand storytelling for technical or industrial B2B companies, ideally in energy, batteries, recycling, or deep tech.
• Comfort working with C-level leadership and functional leaders across the company to align messaging and go-to-market plans.
• Ability to build and manage a digital presence across multiple channels for different audiences: talent, investors, partners, and customers.

Tips for this application

• Reference Redwood's specific position as the largest lithium-ion battery recycler in North America and the market's projected 20 to 50 times growth over the next decade.
• Show you understand the dual business lines: battery recycling and second-life energy storage for AI data centers.
• Explain how you have built marketing for a company with multiple stakeholder audiences (talent, investors, partners, customers) rather than just one.
• Highlight experience leading a small team where you also execute, since the role explicitly says you will lead a small team responsible for executing.
• Mention JB Straubel's background and how it shapes Redwood's story, since the company's founding narrative is central to its brand.

What to cover in your cover letter

Connect your product marketing and brand storytelling experience to Redwood's closed-loop supply chain and second-life battery work. Show you can serve as the primary marketing voice working directly with leadership. Give an example of building a digital footprint across multiple channels for different audiences. Explain why a small, execution-focused team suits you.

Research before applying

• Read Redwood's announcements about its second-life battery project for AI data centers and understand what 'proprietary energy architecture engineered in-house' means.
• Study the battery recycling process and what 'closed-loop, domestic lithium-ion battery supply chain' means in practice.
• Look up JB Straubel's public talks and interviews to understand the company's founding story and voice.
• Find Redwood's current marketing channels (website, LinkedIn, press) and note what is strong and what is missing.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How would you build Redwood's narrative across both battery recycling and second-life energy storage for AI data centers?
• How do you market to four different audiences: talent, investors, partners, and customers, without diluting the message?
• Describe a time you led a small team and personally executed marketing work.
• How would you approach go-to-market strategy for a company in a market projected to grow 20 to 50 times over the next decade?
• What is your process for working directly with a CEO and functional leaders to align marketing with business priorities?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Writing a generic cover letter that could apply to any marketing director role without mentioning battery recycling, second-life energy, or Redwood's specific business lines.
• Focusing only on brand awareness or creative work without addressing go-to-market strategy and product marketing, which the role explicitly requires.
• Ignoring the small-team, hands-on aspect of the role and presenting yourself as someone who only manages and delegates.