About Vulcan Elements 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.

The Role As a Staff Manufacturing Engineer, you will contribute to the full lifecycle of a massive 1 million square foot manufacturing facility expansion—from design and equipment specification through installation, commissioning, production startup, and scale-up to full capacity. You will be responsible for a process step, translating pilot-line processes into full-scale, stable, and repeatable production systems. This is a high-impact, high-ownership role requiring deep technical expertise and leadership.

Responsibilities

Critical Priority — Equipment Vendor Selection: Lead the evaluation, quote comparison, and selection of advanced manufacturing technologies and vendors. You will own the technical and financial side-by-side comparisons to ensure selected machinery meets our aggressive scaling and quality goals.

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

Requirements

, vendor performance and schedule, commissioning activities, process development, and production qualification for a major heavy production process (alloy production, casting, jet milling, powder production, pressing, and sintering operations) . Process Optimization: Develop and optimize manufacturing processes to improve throughput, quality, and equipment reliability. Monitor OEE results and station cycle times to drive yield and capacity improvements.

Project Management: Manage technical schedules, budgets, and deliverables aligned with company milestones and customer commitments. Hands-on Startup Support: Provide hands-on support during production startup, helping stabilize processes and eliminate early bottlenecks. Future Innovation: Develop and innovate new processes and equipment strategies (collaborating with R D) to implement in future production lines, pushing Vulcan to achieve best-in-class magnet manufacturing.

EHS Quality Compliance: Ensure compliance with safety, environmental, and quality standards across all process activities. Travel: This position will require some interaction and travel to support equipment development reviews and Factory Acceptance Tests (FATs) as needed (estimated at 25% travel). You will also be responsible for developing, reviewing, or managing the following deliverables: Risk Safety: Risk Assessments, Ergonomic Assessments, PFMEA.

Process Design: Line Layouts, Process Flow Charts, Bill of Process (BOP), Station Cycle Times, Process Sheets, and Simulations. Engineering Diagrams: CAD Drawings, Electrical Pneumatic Drawings, and performing necessary Electrical and Pneumatic Calculations. Quality Control: Quality Control Plans, R R (Gage Repeatability and Reproducibility) Studies, Quality Checklists, and Process Checklists.

Operations Maintenance: Work Instructions (SOPs), Calibration Procedures, Spare Parts Lists, Bill of Materials (BOM), and Maintenance Manuals. Controls IT: HMI Controls Manuals, Vision Programs, MES Transactions Lists.

Qualifications

Education Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Metallurgical Engineering, or a related technical discipline with 7+ years of experience or a Master’s degree with 5+ years of experience. CAD Proficiency: Strong, hands-on experience creating, modifying, and validating complex equipment assemblies in CAD. Equipment Design Commissioning: A proven track record in heavy custom equipment design, vendor management, and full-cycle commissioning for thermal or raw material processing.