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)