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R&D Materials & Process Engineer

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. 
 
We are seeking a driven R&D Materials & Process Engineer specializing in rare-earth permanent magnet fabrication. In this role, you will lead the practical process development, optimization, and scale-up of sintered NdFeB (Neodymium Iron Boron) magnet manufacturing. You will focus heavily on refining the end-to-end powder metallurgy pipeline—from alloy melting through powder preparation, alignment, sintering, and heat treatment.
You will act as the bridge between metallurgical research and full-scale factory execution, establishing robust processing windows, driving yield improvements, and translating laboratory innovations into scalable manufacturing operations.
 
Responsibilities

•    Design and refine core processing steps, including Strip Casting, Hydrogen Decrepitation, Jet Milling & press parameters as they relate to process throughput, yield, downstream processing and final magnetic properties.
•    Develop and fine-tune vacuum sintering profiles/thermal cycles as they relate to microstructural features and final magnetic performance.
•    Desing of Experiments for improvement in magnetic performance, process throughput and yield, and cost improvement.
•    Conduct root-cause failure analysis (RCA) to eliminate processing defects
•    Support the scaling up of validated experimental processes from lab/pilot-scale equipment to full commercial production lines
•    Collaborate closely with production and equipment engineering teams to modify existing tooling or specify requirements for next-generation processing equipment.

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


Qualifications

•    Education: Bachelor's degree in Materials Science, Metallurgical Engineering, Physics, or Process Engineering.
•    Experience: 3+ years of direct experience in process engineering or industrial R&D environment

•   Deep practical knowledge of powder metallurgy, vacuum thermal processing, and metal powder pressing.
•  Hands-on experience operating, troubleshooting, or optimizing industrial processing equipment.

•  Strong proficiency with magnetic testing systems (Hysteresisgraph, Pulsed Field Magnetometry) and material characterization tools (SEM/EDS, XRD, particle size analyzers).
•  Proven track record applying DOE, Six Sigma methodologies, and statistical tools (e.g. Python, or JMP) for data analysis.

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

Preferred Skills

•    Direct experience with sintered NdFeB magnet manufacturing or design
•    Direct experience with inert gas handling systems, oxygen-controlled environments, and powder oxidation prevention techniques.
•    Experience with automated material handling or pressing tooling design for high-volume magnet manufacturing.

 

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