Quality Engineer

Vulcan Elements; Durham (NC); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Vulcan Elements, a leader in American rare-earth permanent magnets, seeks a Quality Engineer to establish and maintain robust Pilot-quality processes. You will integrate with Manufacturing, R&D, Process Engineering, and Analytical Lab to ensure ISO 9001-aligned quality systems and scalable practices as we expand to Benson or RTP sites.

Join a team focused on Mission Focus, Technical Excellence and Transparency, driving continuous improvement, data integrity, and readiness for future production

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Materials Science, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 3+ years of experience in manufacturing quality, production engineering, or quality systems.
• Working knowledge of ISO 9001 principles and Quality Management Systems.
• Experience supporting production operations in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience writing SOPs, work instructions, and manufacturing documentation.
• Experience with root cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Excellent statistical analysis and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary Quality representative for Pilot manufacturing operations.
• Support daily production activities by ensuring quality requirements are understood and consistently applied.
• Partner with Manufacturing and Engineering to resolve production issues and implement corrective actions.
• Lead root cause investigations and drive CAPA to closure.
• Review and disposition nonconforming material in collaboration with Engineering and Operations.
• Develop and maintain quality procedures, forms, and records for Pilot operations.
• Implement quality processes aligned with ISO 9001 requirements for Pilot readiness.
• Support document control, change management, and risk-based thinking across manufacturing.
• Participate in internal audits and management reviews and track actions to closure.
• Develop production quality plans and inspection requirements for Pilot manufacturing.
• Define CTQ characteristics with Engineering and Manufacturing.
• Create and maintain Control Plans with inspection points and acceptance criteria.
• Collaborate with Metrology and Analytical Lab Leads for measurement methods.
• Support digital quality systems (MES, ERP, LIMS, eQMS) and data integrity.
• Help define system requirements for inspections, deviations, and CAPA.

Skills

Quality engineering

ISO 9001

Root cause analysis

CAPA

Statistical analysis

Documentation

Analytical thinking

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

MES

ERP

LIMS

eQMS

Job description

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 quality engineer you are responsible for establishing and maintaining robust quality processes within the Pilot manufacturing facility, ensuring Pilot operates with the discipline and consistency of an ISO 9001-certified manufacturing site while supporting rapid product and process development.

Working closely with Manufacturing, R&D, Process Engineering, Analytical Lab and Quality, this role develops and implements production quality processes, supports manufacturing operations, drives process improvements, and helps deploy digital quality systems. The Quality Engineer is a key contributor to building scalable manufacturing practices that can be transferred to future production facilities.

This role does not own metrology equipment, measurement system development, or analytical method qualification, but partners closely with the Metrology Lead to ensure appropriate inspection and testing requirements are defined.

This role can be located in either RTP or our Benson location.

Responsibilities

Pilot Manufacturing Support

• Serve as the primary Quality representative for Pilot manufacturing operations.
• Support daily production activities by ensuring quality requirements are understood and consistently applied.
• Partner with Manufacturing and Engineering to resolve production issues and implement corrective actions.
• Lead root cause investigations and drive effective corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).
• Review and disposition nonconforming material in collaboration with Engineering and Operations.

Quality Management System

• Develop and maintain quality procedures, work instructions, forms, and records supporting Pilot operations.
• Implement quality processes aligned with ISO 9001 requirements, preparing Pilot to operate with certified-quality practices.
• Support document control, change management, record retention, and risk-based thinking throughout manufacturing.
• Participate in internal audits and management reviews and track actions to closure.

Production Quality Planning

• Develop production quality plans and inspection requirements for Pilot manufacturing.
• Define Critical-to-Quality (CTQ) characteristics with Engineering and Manufacturing.
• Create and maintain Control Plans that define inspection points, sampling frequency, and acceptance criteria.
• Collaborate with the Metrology Lead and Analytical Lab Lead to ensure appropriate measurement methods are available.

Digital Quality Systems

• Support implementation and continuous improvement of digital manufacturing and quality systems, including MES, ERP, LIMS, and the electronic Quality Management System (eQMS).
• Improve traceability and data integrity across manufacturing operations.
• Help define system requirements for inspections, deviations, nonconforming material, CAPA, document control, and production records and participate in software testing, validation, and user training.

Continuous Improvement

• Analyze production quality data to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
• Develop dashboards and quality metrics to monitor Pilot performance.
• Support standardization of manufacturing processes and best practices.
• Drive projects that improve product quality, process consistency, efficiency, and traceability.

Manufacturing Readiness

• Help prepare Pilot processes for successful transfer to Benson manufacturing.
• Document lessons learned and best practices.
• Support development of scalable production documentation and training materials.
• Partner with Manufacturing and Engineering to improve production readiness.

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

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Materials Science, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 3+ years of experience in manufacturing quality, production engineering, or quality systems, with reduced experience requirements for candidates holding advanced degrees (M.S. or Ph.D.)
• Working knowledge of ISO 9001 principles and Quality Management Systems.
• Experience supporting production operations in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience writing SOPs, work instructions, and manufacturing documentation.
• Experience with root cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Excellent statistical analysis and problem-solving skills.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills.

Preferred

• Experience supporting manufacturing start-up or scale-up environments.
• Experience implementing or using MES, ERP, LIMS, or eQMS platforms.
• Experience with document control and electronic workflows.
• Experience analyzing manufacturing data using Excel, Power BI, or similar tools.
• Experience working in advanced materials, battery, semiconductor, magnet, or other high-technology manufacturing industries.

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