Senior Materials & Process Engineer - Powder Metallurgy

Vulcan Elements; Durham (NC); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Vulcan Elements specializes in manufacturing American rare-earth permanent magnets for a secure and resilient future in critical industries. The company emphasizes Mission Focus, Technical Excellence and Transparency while building a high-caliber engineering team in Durham, NC.

The role focuses on owning and optimizing powder metallurgy processes, correlating variables to magnetic properties, and leading root-cause analyses to ensure robust, scalable production.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of hands-on engineering experience in powder metallurgy processing.
• 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.

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.

Skills

DOE design of experiments

Statistical analysis

Root-cause analysis

Process optimization

Education

Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. in Materials Science / Metallurgical / Chemical Eng

Tools

Python

MATLAB

JMP

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.

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.