---
title: 'Quality Engineer at Vulcan Elements'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/quality-engineer-vulcan-elements-research-triangle-park-dssxrcnyh508'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-06'
---

# Quality Engineer at Vulcan Elements

- **Company:** Vulcan Elements
- **Location:** Research Triangle Park, NC
- **Posted:** 2026-07-16
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-06
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/vulcanelements/jobs/5355405008

## 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.

As a quality engineer you are responsible for establishing and maintaining robust quality processes within the Pilot manufacturing facility, ensuring Pilot operates with the discipline and consistency of an ISO 9001-certified manufacturing site while supporting rapid product and process development.

Working closely with Manufacturing, R&D, Process Engineering, Analytical Lab and Quality, this role develops and implements production quality processes, supports manufacturing operations, drives process improvements, and helps deploy digital quality systems. The Quality Engineer is a key contributor to building scalable manufacturing practices that can be transferred to future production facilities.

This role does not own metrology equipment, measurement system development, or analytical method qualification, but partners closely with the Metrology Lead to ensure appropriate inspection and testing requirements are defined.

This role can be located in either RTP or our Benson location.

## Responsibilities

Pilot Manufacturing Support

- Serve as the primary Quality representative for Pilot manufacturing operations.
- Support daily production activities by ensuring quality requirements are understood and consistently applied.
- Partner with Manufacturing and Engineering to resolve production issues and implement corrective actions.
- Lead root cause investigations and drive effective corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).
- Review and disposition nonconforming material in collaboration with Engineering and Operations.

Quality Management System

- Develop and maintain quality procedures, work instructions, forms, and records supporting Pilot operations.
- Implement quality processes aligned with ISO 9001 requirements, preparing Pilot to operate with certified-quality practices.
- Support document control, change management, record retention, and risk-based thinking throughout manufacturing.
- Participate in internal audits and management reviews and track actions to closure.

Production Quality Planning

- Develop production quality plans and inspection requirements for Pilot manufacturing.
- Define Critical-to-Quality (CTQ) characteristics with Engineering and Manufacturing.
- Create and maintain Control Plans that define inspection points, sampling frequency, and acceptance criteria.
- Collaborate with the Metrology Lead and Analytical Lab Lead to ensure appropriate measurement methods are available.

Digital Quality Systems

- Support implementation and continuous improvement of digital manufacturing and quality systems, including MES, ERP, LIMS, and the electronic Quality Management System (eQMS).
- Improve traceability and data integrity across manufacturing operations.
- Help define system requirements for inspections, deviations, nonconforming material, CAPA, document control, and production records and participate in software testing, validation, and user training.

Continuous Improvement

- Analyze production quality data to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
- Develop dashboards and quality metrics to monitor Pilot performance.
- Support standardization of manufacturing processes and best practices.
- Drive projects that improve product quality, process consistency, efficiency, and traceability.

Manufacturing Readiness

- Help prepare Pilot processes for successful transfer to Benson manufacturing.
- Document lessons learned and best practices.
- Support development of scalable production documentation and training materials.
- Partner with Manufacturing and Engineering to improve production readiness.

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, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or related technical discipline.
- 3+ years of experience in manufacturing quality, production engineering, or quality systems, with reduced experience requirements for candidates holding advanced degrees (M.S. or Ph.D.)
- Working knowledge of ISO 9001 principles and Quality Management Systems.
- Experience supporting production operations in a manufacturing environment.
- Experience writing SOPs, work instructions, and manufacturing documentation.
- Experience with root cause analysis and corrective actions.
- Excellent statistical analysis and problem-solving skills.
- Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills.

## Preferred

- Experience supporting manufacturing start-up or scale-up environments.
- Experience implementing or using MES, ERP, LIMS, or eQMS platforms.
- Experience with document control and electronic workflows.
- Experience analyzing manufacturing data using Excel, Power BI, or similar tools.
- Experience working in advanced materials, battery, semiconductor, magnet, or other high-technology manufacturing industries.

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

## 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

- [Payroll Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/payroll-specialist-vulcan-elements-research-triangle-park-cgnbgwqzqqss) — Research Triangle Park
- [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
- [Manufacturing Engineering Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/manufacturing-engineering-manager-vulcan-elements-research-triangle-park-56h2n366x0pb) — Research Triangle Park, NC
- [Machining Site Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/machining-site-lead-vulcan-elements-benson-m7fnfqdmxg27) — Benson, NC