---
title: 'Virtualization Systems Administrator at Vulcan Elements'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/virtualization-systems-administrator-vulcan-elements-research-triangle-park-armdnptntt9r'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-06'
---

# Virtualization Systems Administrator at Vulcan Elements

- **Company:** Vulcan Elements
- **Location:** Research Triangle Park, NC
- **Posted:** 2026-07-29
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-06
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/vulcanelements/jobs/5373311008

## 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 Virtualization and Systems Administrator, you will own the virtual infrastructure and server environment that underpins both our IT operations and OT/manufacturing systems, including MES servers and related production applications. You will define and maintain how systems communicate across IT and OT boundaries, manage hypervisor platforms, and serve as the primary systems administrator for day-to-day IT operations. This role demands hands-on virtualization expertise, a strong understanding of OT/IT integration, and a security posture aligned with CMMC and NIST 800-171.

## Responsibilities

- Architect, deploy, and manage virtualization platforms (VMware vSphere/ESXi or equivalent) hosting both IT and OT workloads including MES servers, historian systems, and business applications.
- Own the design and administration of virtual machine environments including resource allocation, snapshots, templates, HA/DR configuration, and capacity planning.
- Define, document, and maintain integration points between OT and IT systems including MES-to-ERP data flows, historian feeds, and inter-system APIs. Enforce CMMC-aligned access control and boundary protections at all integration layers.
- Administer MES servers and supporting infrastructure including OS patching, service health, backups, and vendor coordination. Ensure systems remain available and performant for production operations.
- Provide general systems administration for IT infrastructure including Windows/Linux servers, Active Directory, DNS/DHCP, file services, and endpoint management.
- Maintain system documentation, configuration baselines, and SOPs for all supported platforms.
- Partner with Operations, Engineering, Quality, and Finance to support system needs and improvement initiatives.

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

## Qualifications

- 3+ years of systems administration experience with at least 1 years focused on virtualization platforms in a production environment. Manufacturing, defense, or government-regulated environments preferred.
- Direct hands-on experience with VMware vSphere/ESXi, vCenter, or equivalent hypervisor platforms. Experience with VM templates, clusters, vMotion, and storage configurations required.
- Experience administering MES, historian, or SCADA-adjacent server environments. Familiarity with OT system requirements including uptime constraints, patching limitations, and vendor support considerations.
- Working knowledge of NIST 800-171 control families and CMMC practices as they apply to server and virtualization infrastructure. Experience supporting or preparing for CMMC assessments strongly preferred.
- Solid Windows Server administration skills including Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, and file/print services. Linux experience a plus.
- Ability to map and document how systems communicate, identify integration gaps, and implement or modify integrations with appropriate access controls and logging.
- Prior experience supporting federal contractors, DoD programs, or government-adjacent facilities with CUI handling and export-controlled environments (ITAR/EAR).
- Ability to lift up to 50 lbs, work in a manufacturing environment, and perform physical server and rack work as needed.
- VMware VCP, Microsoft MCSA/MCSE, CompTIA Server+, CompTIA Security+, or equivalent.

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