---
title: 'Safety Specialist at Vulcan Elements'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/safety-specialist-vulcan-elements-benson-d58ksk27rxgj'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-06'
---

# Safety Specialist at Vulcan Elements

- **Company:** Vulcan Elements
- **Location:** Benson, NC
- **Posted:** 2026-08-25
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-06
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/vulcanelements/jobs/5392777008

## Job description

Vulcan Elements is manufacturing American rare-earth permanent magnets for a secure 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 Safety Specialist you will be responsible for providing on-site observation of activities and reporting at the Vulcan Elements R&D facility in Durham, NC. You will ensure health and safety compliance with applicable regulations and existing company standards. This is a full-time, day shift position that will either remain at the Durham R&D facility or transfer to the Benson facility once the Benson facility is operational.

## Responsibilities

- Review manufacturing and test procedures and work with the team to draft the job hazard assessments that shape how work gets done.
- Run risk-based inspections and see corrective actions through to real closure.
- Own the daily tailgate program: set the rhythm, make the content matter to that day's work, and build supervisors' ability to run it independently
- Build and run the safety observation and suggestion program — the channel that turns floor-level instinct into trend data leadership acts on.
- Lead self-assessments and safety checks across the floor, including the paperwork behind them, evaluating risk and trends to address gaps and establish best in class safety performance.
- Monitor safety equipment inventories to ensure supplies such as PPE are readily available for employees.
- Provide supplemental environmental compliance support as required by Environmental department
- Co-develop OSHA-aligned safety policies with the EHS leader, built for the speed and variability of R&D pilot work, and pressure-test them with the team until they hold up on the floor.
- Own the KPIs that prove safety is working — tailgate completion, observation closure, self-assessment trends, corrective action aging — and use them to drive where attention goes next.
- Watch how new processes and equipment shift the risk picture, and keep documentation audit-ready as a matter of course.
- Facilitate root cause analysis on safety incidents and higher potential near-misses and bring that same rigor to RCAs led by others.
- Partner with R&D and process engineering during scale-up so safety gets designed in before new work ever reaches the floor.
- Lead by influence — build the kind of trust with supervisors and area owners that makes them want to own tailgates, self-assessments, and corrective actions themselves.

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

## Qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent education and/or experience.
- 4-6 years of job specific experience.
- Working knowledge of OSHA standards, JHA development, and incident investigation methodology.
- Comfort operating with real authority and autonomy.
- Strong communication skills and the ability to build trust and credibility.
- Completed OSHA 30-hour training

Desired Skills

- Bilingual
- First aid/CPR/AED certified

Work Environment and Demands

- Must have a valid driver’s license
- Must be able to perform activities including climbing ladders and scaffolds, lifting (up to 35 lbs), walking, balancing, and stooping.
- The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate

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
- [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
- [Buyer](https://feeny.ai/job/buyer-vulcan-elements-research-triangle-park-wymzztx1dfn6) — Research Triangle Park, NC