Technical Program Manager

Vulcan Elements Inc.; Benson (NC); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Vulcan Elements Inc. seeks a Technical Program Manager to lead the master schedule for a 1.1 million square foot manufacturing expansion, integrating all manufacturing engineering streams to ensure on-time delivery of equipment design, procurement, installation and commissioning.

You will connect process, equipment, industrial, controls, and factory teams, manage CPM networks, risk registers, and weekly leadership reviews, and translate complex engineering data into clear executive updates for

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Management, or a related technical discipline.
• 5+ years of program management experience in high-volume, large-scale manufacturing.
• Deep technical fluency to understand engineering workstreams.
• Expert-level proficiency with Smartsheet, Microsoft Project, and JIRA.
• Ability to distill complex data into executive summaries.

Responsibilities

• Build, connect, and maintain the comprehensive program schedule for the 1.1M square foot facility.
• Track critical path items from design concepts to FATs, SATs and commissioning.
• Identify bottlenecks, develop recovery plans, and forecast delays with engineering teams.
• Lead weekly leadership program reviews and synthesize technical data into executive updates.
• Coordinate across all engineering departments to align dependencies and milestones.
• Master Gantt charts, CPM networks, and milestone-tracked dashboards.
• Maintain program risk registers, escalation matrices, and milestone-gated PFMEA timelines.
• Produce weekly executive summaries and department OKR tracking, and align with vendor delivery schedules.

Skills

Program management

Cross-functional leadership

Stakeholder communication

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Mechanical Engineering/Engineering Management

Tools

Smartsheet

Microsoft Project

JIRA

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 Integrity.

As a Technical Program Manager, you will contribute to the full lifecycle of a massive 1.1 million square foot manufacturing facility expansion—specifically leading the overarching master schedule and integration of all manufacturing engineering workstreams. You will be the central hub connecting all engineering disciplines to ensure equipment design, procurement, installation, and commissioning occur on time. This is a high-impact, high-ownership role requiring deep technical fluency and exceptional leadership presence.

Responsibilities

• Build, connect, and maintain the comprehensive program timeline for the 1.1M square foott facility. Integrate feedback and timelines from Process, Equipment, Industrial, Controls, and Factory Engineering teams into a single, cohesive source of truth.
• Track every piece of critical path equipment from initial design concepts to vendor RFQs, Factory Acceptance Tests (FATs), Site Acceptance Tests (SATs), and final production commissioning.
• Proactivelyidentifycritical path items and technical bottlenecks that could push the program timeline. Predict delays before they happen and work with engineering teams to develop recovery plans.
• Manage and lead weekly leadership program reviews. Synthesizehighly complex, technical engineering data into clear, simple, and actionable visual updates for executive stakeholders.
• Act as the connective tissue across all engineering departments. Understand the technical dependencies between a facility utility hookup, a machine's electrical panel build, and a process engineer's trial schedule.
• Master Gantt charts, Critical Path Method (CPM) networks, and milestone tracking dashboards.
• Program Risk Registers, escalation matrices, and milestone-gated PFMEA timelines.
• Weekly executive summary reports, department OKR tracking, and vendor delivery schedules.

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

Qualifications

• Bachelor’sorMaster’sdegree in Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Management, or a related technical discipline with 5+ years of experience.
• Proven experience as a program manager in a high-volume, large-scale manufacturing environment. You mustpossessthe technical depth to understand what the engineers are building, not just tracking dates on a calendar.
• Expert-levelproficiencyin Smartsheet,Microsoft Project, JIRA,and other enterprise-level project management and roadmap software.
• Exceptional ability to distill complex engineering hurdles and machinery delays into simple, transparent executive summaries for leadership.
• Proven track record of gathering timeline deliverables from stubborn or highly loaded technical teams and holding them accountable to project milestones without direct reporting authority.

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

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience specifically in massive-scale facilities, heavy industrial manufacturing, or automotive/aerospace gigafactories.
• PMP (Project Management Professional) or Agile/Scrum certifications.
• Experience with physical equipment FAT/SAT execution and managing international equipment vendors.
• Experience in highly regulated industries such as Defense (DoD), Aerospace (AS9100), or Automotive (IATF 16949).

Physical and Environmental Requirements

The position requires regular presence on the production floor and the ability to navigate all areas of the facility. Candidates must be able to climb stairs, stand and walk for extended periods, and work in environments that may be hot, humid, or noisy. The role also requires the use of personal protective equipment, including respirators, and adherence to all applicable safety policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements. Employees must be able to complete required fit testing, wear appropriate PPE for the duration of assigned tasks, and respond safely to changing conditions within the production environment.

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.

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 hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential 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.

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 measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis 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.