Applications Engineer - Magnetics

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 an Applications Engineer , you will own the technical progression of customer programs from initial engagement through qualification and production. You will serve as the technical bridge between customers, commercial teams, and internal engineering—ensuring that customer requirements are translated into manufacturable, high-performance magnet solutions.

This role sits within the Commercial Development team and is critical to advancing customer opportunities through the pipeline (samples → validation → qualification → production), directly supporting revenue growth and successful product execution.

Responsibilities

Customer Technical Support

Work directly with customers to understand application requirements and identify appropriate permanent magnet solutions

Provide guidance on magnet materials, grades, coatings, and performance characteristics

Serve as a primary technical point of contact for customer questions, clarifications, and issue resolution

Communicate technical requirements clearly between customers and internal teams

Drive customer programs through key milestones including sample delivery, testing, validation, and production readiness

Track and manage technical progress of customer engagements in coordination with the commercial team

Act as the voice of the customer internally, ensuring requirements, constraints, and performance expectations are clearly understood and executed

Application Engineering & Magnet Guidance

Guide customers in selecting appropriate magnet materials, grades, and configurations for new and existing applications

Provide magnetic application support, including performance tradeoffs and basic analysis

Evaluate customer requirements against internal manufacturing capabilities and provide DFM recommendations balancing performance, cost, manufacturability, and heavy rare earth (HRE) usage

Translate application needs into clear technical requirements for production and materials teams

Execution, Quality & Problem Solving

Coordinate with R&D, manufacturing, and quality teams to ensure alignment with customer requirements

Support prototyping, testing, and validation of magnet products in customer applications

Support root cause investigations for customer issues and non-conforming product, including corrective actions (e.g., 8D)

Partner with internal quality teams and customers on qualification activities (e.g., PPAP, where applicable)

Drive timely resolution of application, performance, and quality issues across internal teams

Operate with urgency to support fast-moving customer timelines and internal production ramp

Customer Qualification & Program Execution

Own technical execution of customer programs from initial engagement through qualification and production release

Coordinate internally to ensure timely delivery of samples, test data, and technical documentation

Support customer qualification processes, including PPAP, first article inspection, and validation testing where applicable

Ensure alignment between customer expectations and internal execution timelines

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

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, or related technical field

5+ years of experience in a customer-facing engineering, applications engineering, or product engineering role

Experience working with manufactured components in a production environment (e.g., metals, ceramics, magnets, or similar)

Ability to interpret technical drawings, specifications, and customer requirements

Experience collaborating cross-functionally with manufacturing and quality teams

Strong problem-solving skills with experience supporting root cause investigations

Excellent communication skills with the ability to interface directly with customers

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

Desired Skills

Experience in automotive, aerospace, defense, or other high-reliability industries

Experience working with permanent magnets, particularly NdFeB materials

Familiarity with magnetic systems or applications (e.g., motors, sensors, actuators)

Familiarity with quality and qualification processes (e.g., PPAP, first article inspection)

Ability to read and interpret GD&T and complex engineering drawings

Exposure to design-for-manufacturability (DFM) concepts in a production environment

Experience supporting root cause investigations and corrective actions (e.g., 8D, CAPA)

Experience working directly with customers in a technical or applications-focused role

Exposure to basic electromagnetic or magnetic analysis tools (FEA or similar)