Technical Lead - Powder Metallurgy Materials & Processes

Vulcan-Elements; Durham (NC); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Vulcan Elements in Research Triangle Park, NC, seeks a Senior/Staff Materials and Process Engineer to lead end-to-end powder metallurgy for NdFeB magnets. You will optimize hydrogen decrepitation, jet milling, pressing, vacuum sintering, and post-sinter heat treatments to maximize magnetic performance and yield.

You will correlate process variables with microstructure and properties, lead root-cause analyses, and transition new alloy compositions from pilot to high-volume production, partnering

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. in Materials Science, Metallurgical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related field.
• 8+ years of hands-on engineering experience in powder metallurgy in an industrial setting.
• Experience with reactive metal powder processing, protective inert atmospheres, vacuum thermal processing, and advanced sintering kinetics.
• Experience with materials characterization 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

Powder metallurgy

Experimental design

Statistical analysis

Education

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

Tools

SEM

XRD

TGA/DSC

Python

MATLAB

JMP

Job description

Vulcan Elements in Research Triangle Park, NC, seeks a Senior/Staff Materials and Process Engineer to lead end-to-end powder metallurgy for NdFeB magnets. You will optimize hydrogen decrepitation, jet milling, pressing, vacuum sintering, and post-sinter heat treatments to maximize magnetic performance and yield.

You will correlate process variables with microstructure and properties, lead root-cause analyses, and transition new alloy compositions from pilot to high-volume production, partnering