Director of Manufacturing Engineering

Overview

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 the Director of Manufacturing Engineering, you will lead a team responsible for translating pilot-line processes into full-scale, stable, and repeatable production systems across a 1M+ sqft facility — spanning alloy processing, strip casting, powder metallurgy, pressing, sintering, machining, coating, and testing.

• Own end-to-end process design, commissioning and optimization across major NdFeB production steps (alloy preparation, casting, powder production, pressing, sintering, machining, coating, testing, and packaging).
• Lead the manufacturing engineering and process development teams through factory design, equipment installation, commissioning, and operation.
• Define and control critical process parameters to achieve tight tolerance, yield, and performance requirements.
• Drive root cause analysis, FMEA, and continuous improvement programs to stabilize throughput and quality.
• Translate pilot learnings into scalable line designs, process flow, and automation requirements.
• Lead technical onboarding of new production equipment and oversee process qualification and line validation.
• Build and mentor a high-performing process engineering, manufacturing engineering, and automation & control teams.
• Manage technical schedules, budgets, and deliverables aligned with company milestones and customer commitments.

• 8+ years in manufacturing or process engineering, ideally within powder metallurgy, advanced materials, rare-earth magnet manufacturing, automotive, battery, or similar high volume manufacturing environments
• 4+ years demonstrated leadership experience in high volume advanced manufacturing
• Bachelors Degree in Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related engineering discipline
• Proven track record scaling complex industrial processes from pilot to production in a leadership position
• Strong analytical, data-driven problem-solving skills and ability to drive accountability and results under tight timelines

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