---
title: 'Product Quality Engineer at Vulcan Elements'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/product-quality-engineer-vulcan-elements-research-triangle-park-6y47hgsga0mf'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-13'
---

# Product Quality Engineer at Vulcan Elements

- **Company:** Vulcan Elements
- **Location:** Research Triangle Park, NC
- **Posted:** 2026-09-11
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-13
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/vulcanelements/jobs/5419256008

## 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.

## About the Role

As a Product Quality Engineer, you will own the translation and execution of customer product quality requirements from initial development samples through production qualification and ongoing supply. You will ensure that customer drawings, specifications, quality requirements, and acceptance criteria are clearly understood internally; that appropriate inspection and testing are completed; and that objective evidence demonstrates product conformance before customer release.

Sitting within the Commercial Development team, you will serve as the primary technical quality interface between customers and Vulcan's R&D, Manufacturing, Process Quality, and Commercial teams. While Process Quality owns manufacturing process control and capability, you own whether the delivered product meets customer requirements, is supported by the required evidence, and is ready for customer qualification and release.

This role will be located at our Pilot Operations Facility in Durham, NC.

## Responsibilities

Customer Requirements & Qualification

- Own customer qualification from requirements intake through customer approval, including PPAP, FAI, validation plans, customer-specific requirements, and supporting documentation.
- Build and maintain qualification plans for each customer part, including required samples, tests, documentation, owners, dependencies, approval gates, and objective evidence required for customer approval.
- Translate customer drawings, specifications, quality manuals, and supplier requirements into defined inspection, test, acceptance, documentation, and traceability requirements; ensure they are incorporated into applicable inspection methods, production control plans, and quality procedures.
- Establish and maintain the authoritative record of customer product quality requirements for each part number, including drawing and specification revisions, customer-specific requirements, special characteristics, inspection and testing requirements, approved deviations, qualification status, and required shipment documentation.
- Lead quality onboarding for new customers, including supplier portals, quality questionnaires, certifications, process-control evidence, and customer-specific documentation.

Sample, Test & Delivery Execution

- Own quality execution of customer sample and qualification builds from build planning through release, ensuring required inspections, tests, and documentation are complete before shipment.
- Define inspection requirements, sampling plans, acceptance criteria, and release criteria based on customer drawings, specifications, qualification requirements, and applicable industry standards.
- Drive R&D, Manufacturing, Process Quality, Commercial, and external suppliers against qualification requirements and timelines; identify gaps and drive actions required to maintain customer commitments.
- Coordinate qualification testing with internal and external labs; ensure required samples are available, review results against customer acceptance criteria, and compile customer-ready test evidence.
- Review inspection and test results against customer requirements and disposition product for release, additional evaluation, deviation, or containment.
- Define product quality requirements for outsourced manufacturing and testing processes and verify resulting product meets requirements before customer release.

Product Quality & Corrective Action

- Own customer-facing quality issues from initial notification through closure, including containment, product disposition, technical customer communication, corrective-action tracking, and effectiveness verification.
- Lead customer nonconformance and deviation processes, including Supplier Deviation Requests, 8D responses, CAPAs, returns, and customer-required corrective-action submissions.
- Drive containment of suspect product across WIP, finished goods, external processors, and customer shipments; ensure affected material cannot proceed without documented disposition.
- Partner with Process Quality, Manufacturing, and R&D to determine root cause and implement corrective actions; ensure actions address customer requirements and are supported by evidence required for customer closure.
- Track customer product quality performance, including defects, PPM, returns, deviations, containments, corrective-action aging, and qualification status.
- Convert recurring product quality issues into defined changes to inspection methods, product requirements, process controls, supplier controls, or QMS procedures.

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

## Qualifications

- BS or MS in Mechanical, Materials, Manufacturing, Chemical, Industrial Engineering, or related technical discipline.
- 3+ years of experience in product quality, customer quality, manufacturing quality, supplier quality, or product/production engineering in a hardware manufacturing environment.
- Experience translating technical drawings, specifications, and customer requirements into inspection, test, and acceptance criteria.
- Experience supporting product qualification, validation, or production release, including review and disposition of inspection and test results.
- Demonstrated experience supporting prototype-to-production or new product introduction in a manufacturing environment.
- Experience investigating nonconforming product and executing containment, root cause analysis, corrective action, and documented closure.
- Working knowledge of manufacturing quality systems and standards such as ISO 9001, AS9100, or IATF 16949.
- Ability to work directly with engineering and production teams to resolve technical and quality issues on physical hardware.

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

Desired Skills

- 5+ years of experience in hardware manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, defense, or other high-reliability applications.
- Experience owning or supporting customer qualification packages such as PPAP, FAI/AS9102, validation plans, control plans, or customer-specific quality documentation.
- Experience developing inspection plans, sampling strategies, measurement methods, and acceptance criteria for manufactured components.
- Experience working with external laboratories or suppliers to execute material, dimensional, mechanical, or performance testing.
- Experience with 8D, CAPA, MRB, deviations/waivers, and other formal nonconformance processes.
- Working knowledge of GD&T and dimensional inspection methods.
- Ability to analyze manufacturing and quality data using Excel, Minitab, Power BI, or similar tools.
- Experience working directly with customers on technical quality requirements, qualification, or product issues.

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.

## 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)

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