Materials & Process Engineer (Electrochemical)

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 Materials & Process Engineer (focused on electrochemistry), you will be responsible for the production of metal, meeting specification, from oxides via electrochemical routes, as well as the process definition, continuous improvement, documentation, and scale – up of electrochemical metallization processes.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on subject matter expert in electrolytic processes, with experience translating fundamentals to repeatable, documented, and operable industrial processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead the conversion of metal oxides to on-specification metals using electrochemical routes.
• Continuous, data driven, process improvements, and translation of pilot-scale improvements to full production, prioritizing documentation and management of change.
• Optimization of metal quality, salt chemistry, process conditions, and cell geometry
• Author and maintain formal process documentation suitable for training and execution by operations teams.
• Partner with R&D, operations, quality, and EHS teams to ensure metallurgical processes are:
  • Safe
  • Scalable
  • Cost-effective
  • Environmentally compliant
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to junior engineers and technicians.

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

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree or higher in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemistry or a related field
• 5+ years of hands-on experience in electrochemical process development or production
• Strong working knowledge of:
  • High-temperature reactions and thermodynamics
  • Metal melting and solidification
  • Molten salt chemistry
• Proven experience creating clear, auditable, and operator-ready process documentation.
• Experience supporting pilot plants or early commercial operations.

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

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with reactive or high-melting-point metals
• Experience in startup or scale-up environments
• Knowledge of quality systems (ISO, internal technical governance)
• Ability to operate as a technical authority without excessive oversight