Back to jobs
New

Senior Materials & Process Engineer - Powder Metallurgy

Research Triangle Park, NC

Vulcan Elements is manufacturing American rare-earth permanent magnets for a secure, resilient future. With a focus on national security and economic resiliency, we serve critical industries such as defense, aerospace, and automotive powering a high-technology future. Vulcan Elements is building a team of ambitious professionals committed to Mission Focus, Technical Excellence and Transparency.

As a Senior/Staff Materials and Process Engineer, you will serve as the technical lead for the end-to-end powder metallurgy manufacturing process—spanning powder processing, advanced compaction, and thermal treatment. You will be responsible for optimizing current production lines, scaling new NdFeB magnet formulations, and troubleshooting complex materials anomalies. This role bridges the gap between R&D and high-volume production, ensuring maximum magnetic performance, microstructural integrity, and manufacturing yield. This is a high-impact, high-ownership role requiring deep technical expertise and leadership. 

Responsibilities

  • Own and optimize the powder metallurgy pipeline, including hydrogen decrepitation, jet milling, pressing and compaction, vacuum sintering, and post-sinter heat treatments.
  • Correlate process variables to magnetic properties, microstructure, and part quality.
  • Lead root-cause failure analyses for sample defects and implement corrective actions.
  • Transition new alloy compositions from pilot scale to robust, high-volume production.
  • Define technical specifications and partner with Manufacturing team for selection and commissioning of next-generation manufacturing equipment.

Responsibilities and tasks outlined are not exhaustive and may change as determined by the needs of the business.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. in Materials Science, Metallurgical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
  • 8+ years of hands-on engineering experience in powder metallurgy processing (industrial manufacturing setting preferred).
  • Experience with reactive metal powder processing, protective inert atmospheres , vacuum thermal processing, and advanced sintering kinetics.
  • Experience with materials characterization and analytical techniques such as SEM, XRD, TGA/DSC
  • Strong experience in design of experiments, statistical processing, and leading research efforts

Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export-controlled information or facilities.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Direct experience in the manufacturing of sintered NdFeB permanent magnets and grain boundary diffusion processes.
  • Strong proficiency in evaluating magnetic materials properties and interpreting microstructural data.
  • Experience utilizing data analysis tools (such as Python, MATLAB, or JMP) to analyze manufacturing quality datasets or automate performance mapping.
  • Familiarity with ISO 9001 or IATF 16949 quality management standards.

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at Vulcan Elements? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...

This position requires access to information and technology that is subject to US Export Control. Vulcan Elements will use this information to determine if you are eligible to receive this information under US Law. 

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Vulcan Elements’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.