Senior Manager, Machining Operations
- Compensation
- Not disclosed
- Location
- Benson, NC
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Senior
- Employment
- Full time
- Experience
- Not specified
- Category
- Not specified
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related technical discipline
- 8+ in precision machining or discrete manufacturing operations, including five or more years leading production teams in a 24/7 multi-shift environment.
- Deep working knowledge of CNC machining and precision grinding — setup, tooling, fixturing, feeds and speeds, tool life, and the drivers of dimensional variation.
- Strong command of GD&T, dimensional metrology, process capability (Cpk) and statistical process control.
- Demonstrated ownership of equipment commissioning and process qualification — you have brought new machining equipment from installation through first article and capability sign-off.
- Demonstrated ownership of OEE or equivalent equipment performance metrics, including establishing the measurement method rather than inheriting one.
- Direct accountability for safety performance in a machining or metalworking environment, including machine guarding, LOTO and chemical handling.
- Operating budget ownership with demonstrated cost control, particularly of labor and consumable spend.
Nice to have
- Greenfield, startup or major expansion experience — standing up a machining operation from an empty building rather than improving a running one.
- Experience machining brittle, hard or magnetic materials; familiarity with rare earth magnet machining and pyrophoric swarf handling is a significant advantage.
- Experience with electroplating or surface finishing operations, including chemical handling and wastewater considerations.
- Lean or Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or higher) with a record of applied projects in a machining environment.
- Experience deploying MES, shop-floor data collection or automated inspection systems.
Full 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 Integrity.
This leader is hired before the machining equipment is installed and is accountable for building the organization, qualifying the process, and running it once it starts. That means owning equipment commissioning and process qualification from early engagement in the factory acceptance testing through first article and capability sign-off; designing the shift model, cell structure and technician progression; writing the training and onboarding programs that qualify every operator on the floor; and then owning safety, OEE, quality and the operating budget in steady state.
Responsibilities
Startup, Commissioning and Process Qualification
- Own machining process startup end to end — from equipment specification review and factory acceptance testing through installation, site acceptance, commissioning, process qualification and rate ramp.
- Partner with Manufacturing Engineering, Capital Execution and Automation & Digital Manufacturing on equipment selection, tooling and fixturing strategy, cell layout, and controls integration; serve as the operations acceptance authority for equipment turnover.
- Lead first-article inspection, process capability studies and Cpk qualification for each machining, grinding, coating and finishing operation before it is released to production.
- Partner with the Manufacturing Engineering team to establish coolant, handling, tooling and abrasive management systems from scratch, including the consumable strategy and vendor relationships behind them.
- Define the lot flow, WIP staging and buffer strategy through the area in partnership with Production Controls, and confirm it physically during construction rather than after turnover.
- Drive the ramp from first qualified part to full rate across nine production lines, sequencing capability build against the equipment delivery and line startup schedule.
Organization Design and Build
- Design the Machining Operations organization: shift model on a four-crew rotating schedule, cell and station structure, span of control, and the Shift Lead and Sr./Lead Technician layer that carries daily floor authority.
- Define technician roles and the progression path across stations — CNC machining, grinding, coating, tumbling, packaging and inspection — including the skill blocks that govern advancement.