---
title: 'Manager, Commercial Applications at Vulcan Elements'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/manager-commercial-applications-vulcan-elements-research-triangle-park-n44adwd5mh99'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-13'
---

# Manager, Commercial Applications at Vulcan Elements

- **Company:** Vulcan Elements
- **Location:** Research Triangle Park, NC
- **Posted:** 2026-04-26
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-13
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/vulcanelements/jobs/5201144008

## 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.

The Manager, Commercial Applications will lead Vulcan Element’s customer engagement and qualification pipeline—from first contact through long-term partnership. This role is responsible for managing customer relationships, coordinating technical and commercial requirements across internal teams, and ensuring a seamless customer experience from quote to contract.

You will serve as the voice of the customer across the organization - translating market and customer needs into actionable input for operations, product development, and leadership. This is a highly cross-functional role requiring both commercial and technical fluency.

## Responsibilities

- Customer Pipeline Management: Own the full commercial pipeline including quotes, sampling, qualification, and transition to production.
- Customer Engagement: Serve as the primary point-of-contact for customers—building relationships, coordinating site visits, and ensuring timely communication throughout all stages of engagement.
- Voice of the Customer: Translate customer requirements and feedback into clear technical and operational inputs for internal teams.
- Qualification Coordination: Work closely with operations, R&D, and quality teams to ensure all customer testing and qualification milestones are met.
- Quoting and Commercial Support: Lead the quotation process, ensuring pricing and terms align with company strategy and cost structure.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with operations to align production schedules, sample delivery, and customer timelines.
- CRM and Reporting: Maintain accurate records of customer status, technical progress, and commercial forecasts in CRM and internal reporting systems.
- Market Awareness: Support the Commercial team in gathering competitive intelligence and identifying emerging customer or market opportunities.

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

## Qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree in engineering, materials science, business, or a related field.
- 7+ years of experience in engineering, technical sales, business development, or customer program management - preferably in advanced manufacturing, materials, or automotive/aerospace sectors.
- Proven ability to manage complex programs with technical deliverables (e.g., samples, testing, or qualification).
- Strong communication and relationship management skills across technical and executive audiences.
- Demonstrated experience working cross-functionally with operations, R&D, and quality teams.

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

Desired Skills

- Experience in rare-earth materials, magnetics, or related advanced materials markets.
- MBA preferred.
- Familiarity with defense or aerospace procurement processes.
- Technical aptitude in magnet design, materials processing, mechanical engineering, or component manufacturing.
- Experience building and maintaining CRM pipelines and customer reporting systems.

## Why Join Vulcan Elements

You’ll play a key role in rebuilding America’s rare-earth magnet supply chain - supporting national security, economic resilience, and industrial leadership. As part of a fast-growing team, you’ll have the opportunity to directly influence both customer success and company growth.

## About Vulcan Elements

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Vulcan Elements manufactures American rare-earth permanent magnets to build a resilient, Western supply chain for critical industries including defense, aerospace, automotive, and AI datacenters.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed + Series A + Debt financing)
- **Headquarters**: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (primary R&D operations also in Research Triangle Park, NC)
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: John Maslin (CEO) and Dr. Piotr Kulik (CTO)

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Advanced manufacturing of rare earth permanent magnets (neodymium).
- Target customers: B2B and government/defense – enterprise customers in defense, aerospace, automotive, industrial, consumer electronics, AI datacenters, semiconductor fabrication.
- Mission: "Improving U.S. and allied security by producing the Rare Earth Magnets that are critical to economic and national security." – [vulcanelements.com](https://vulcanelements.com/)

## Products & Services
- **Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (Neodymium)**: High-performance sintered and bonded magnets used in motors, generators, sensors, and actuators. Application areas include defense systems, satellites, AI datacenters, semiconductor fabrication, consumer electronics, industrial motors, power tools, and non-drive train motors. – [vulcanelements.com](https://vulcanelements.com/)
- **R&D and Process Optimization**: Developing next-generation magnetic technologies and advanced manufacturing processes focused on efficiency, cost competitiveness, and supply chain transparency. – [vulcanelements.com](https://vulcanelements.com/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed.
- **Total Funding**: $690.2 million (as of November 2025) across three rounds:
  - Seed Round (Dec 2023): $5.2M – 3 investors.
  - Series A (Sep 2025): $65M – led by Washington Harbour Partners and Altimeter.
  - Debt Financing (Nov 2025): $620M – led by the Department of Defense’s Office of Strategic Capital (OSC). – [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/vulcan-elements) / [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/vulcan-elements)
- **Key Metric**: Total funding $690.2M; production output of 10 metric tons in 2025.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Department of Defense’s Office of Strategic Capital, Washington Harbour Partners, Altimeter.
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Announced a $1.4 billion partnership with the United States government.
  - Selected Benson, North Carolina, for a 1.1 million sq ft facility – the largest magnet manufacturing plant outside China.
  - Employee headcount of 38 (+200% YoY) as of mid-2026.
  - Rapidly scaling pilot operations; 37 open job listings on Greenhouse. – [vulcanelements.com](https://vulcanelements.com/) / [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/vulcan-elements) / [greenhouse.io](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/vulcanelements)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Domestic Supply Chain**: The only U.S. company vertically integrating rare earth magnet production, reducing reliance on Chinese supply.
- **Technical Expertise**: Co-founder Dr. Piotr Kulik is one of four rare earth magnet science professors in the U.S. and opened the first academic rare earth magnetics lab in the country in over 20 years.
- **Government Backing**: Strong ties to U.S. national security agencies and over a billion dollars in government-funded partnerships.
- **Process Innovation**: Proprietary process optimization methods aimed at cost competitiveness without sacrificing performance.
- **National Security Focus**: All operations require U.S. Person status, aligning with defense and aerospace customer needs.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale Production**: Transition from pilot-scale (10 metric tons/year) to mass production at the Benson, NC facility to meet surging demand from defense, AI, and automotive sectors.
- **Supply Chain Resilience**: Partnering exclusively with U.S. and allied-country suppliers (UK, Australia, Japan).
- **R&D**: Developing next-generation magnetic materials and advanced manufacturing processes.
- **Talent Acquisition**: Actively hiring engineers, scientists, operations, and business development talent to support rapid growth. – [greenhouse.io](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/vulcanelements)

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-Driven Culture**: Employees contribute directly to national security and economic resilience, with values of Mission Focus, Technical Excellence, and Transparency. – [vulcanelements.com](https://vulcanelements.com/careers/)
- **Benefits**: Competitive equity, unlimited PTO, 90% health insurance (100% for employee), 99% dental and vision, 401K, fully stocked kitchen. – [vulcanelements.com](https://vulcanelements.com/careers/)
- **Work Environment**: Fast-paced startup with a "startup manufacturer" ethos; roles are largely on-site in Research Triangle Park, NC or Benson, NC. Internship opportunities available with mentorship and real impact on critical projects.
- **Growth Opportunity**: Extremely high headcount growth (+200% YoY) and large-scale facility expansion offer rapid career advancement.
- **U.S. Person Requirement**: Many positions require U.S. Person status due to government contracts.

## Sources
1. [vulcanelements.com](https://vulcanelements.com/)
2. [vulcanelements.com/careers](https://vulcanelements.com/careers/)
3. [greenhouse.io (Vulcan Elements jobs)](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/vulcanelements)
4. [linkedin.com/company/vulcan-elements](https://www.linkedin.com/company/vulcan-elements)
5. [cbinsights.com/company/vulcan-elements](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/vulcan-elements)

## Other roles at Vulcan Elements

- [Product Quality Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/product-quality-engineer-vulcan-elements-research-triangle-park-6y47hgsga0mf) — Research Triangle Park, NC
- [Senior Accountant](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-accountant-vulcan-elements-research-triangle-park-hwssnebttjmj) — Research Triangle Park, NC
- [Payroll Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/payroll-specialist-vulcan-elements-research-triangle-park-cgnbgwqzqqss) — Research Triangle Park, NC
- [Senior Materials Scientist](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-materials-scientist-vulcan-elements-research-triangle-park-53n83a0hj1yh) — Research Triangle Park, NC
- [Sr. Manager, Operational Excellence](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-manager-operational-excellence-vulcan-elements-benson-y4aw80sbt401) — Benson, NC
- [Staff Process Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-process-engineer-vulcan-elements-research-triangle-park-jfs5jqwjdteq) — Research Triangle Park, NC
- [R&D Materials & Process Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/r-d-materials-process-engineer-vulcan-elements-research-triangle-park-ksmm3yh6bxmy) — Research Triangle Park, NC
- [Controls Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/controls-engineer-vulcan-elements-research-triangle-park-m1m7tkg7thr1) — Research Triangle Park, NC
- [Safety Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/safety-specialist-vulcan-elements-benson-d58ksk27rxgj) — Benson, NC
- [Machinist](https://feeny.ai/job/machinist-vulcan-elements-benson-z2y1p4qcfny9) — Benson, NC