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.
The Manufacturing Training Facilitator builds operator and technician skills through job shadowing, equipment demonstrations, supervised practice, and coaching, helping employees qualify for assigned work. This role works primarily on the production floor and delivers classroom instruction, simulations, onboarding, and approved safety training to prepare employees for manufacturing work.
The facilitator must qualify on assigned equipment before operating it or supervising hands-on training and partners with Operations, Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, EHS, and Warehouse/Logistics to keep instruction aligned with approved procedures.
This position is based in Benson, North Carolina, and reports to Vulcan Elements’ Raleigh R&D facility until the Benson site opens. Based on business needs and individual performance, the role may support other Workforce Strategy and Development initiatives.
Responsibilities
Production-Floor Training and Job Shadowing
- Coordinate structured job shadowing with qualified operators and subject-matter experts, establishing clear learning objectives and expectations for each activity.
- Guide employees through observation, demonstration, supervised practice, and feedback as they learn assigned manufacturing tasks.
- Partner with area supervisors to schedule training, identify skill gaps, and support progression toward required qualifications.
- Observe how employees perform trained tasks, reinforce approved work practices, and provide coaching or targeted retraining.
- Explain the connection between operating procedures, safety controls, quality requirements, documentation, and production outcomes.
- Ensure employees perform tasks only within their current training and authorization level.
Machine Demonstration and Hands-On Training
- Complete required machine qualifications and safely set up, operate, monitor, and shut down assigned equipment during training.
- Demonstrate approved operating procedures, including equipment controls, operating limits, hazards, quality checks, documentation, and response to abnormal conditions.
- Supervise hands-on practice, maintain control of the training area, and enforce PPE, procedural, stop-work, and escalation requirements.
- Stop training activities when unsafe conditions, equipment abnormalities, quality concerns, or procedural deviations occur.
- Conduct and document practical evaluations, ensuring employees complete required qualification and authorization before operating independently.
- Deliver powered industrial truck training and practical evaluations when assigned and after meeting applicable trainer and evaluator qualification requirements.
Instruction and Onboarding
- Deliver approved onboarding, safety, technical, and operator training using classroom instruction, videos, discussions, simulations, and practical exercises.
- Explain manufacturing and technical concepts in clear, practical language appropriate for hourly operators and technicians.
- Adapt instruction and coaching to employee experience while maintaining required learning outcomes and performance standards.
- Prepare training materials, equipment, procedures, and learning areas before each session.
- Coordinate guest facilitators and subject-matter experts to support training delivery.
- Deliver or co-deliver new-hire safety orientation and coordinate role-specific training with EHS, HR, and area supervisors.
Manufacturing Curriculum Delivery
Teach or coordinate training in the following areas:
- Magnet science, applications, grades, customer requirements, workplace expectations, and manufacturing fundamentals.
- Safety, quality, material control, documentation, traceability, compliance courses, and onboarding requirements.
- Technical terminology, measurements, drawings, specifications, and MES and ERP concepts.
- Receiving, sampling, material preparation, milling, blending, pressing, sintering, inspection, and metallography.
- Department roles, cross-functional handoffs, machine operation, quality checks, basic troubleshooting, and response to abnormal conditions.
Training Content and Safety Support
- Recommend training improvements based on production-floor observations, employee performance, and feedback from supervisors and subject-matter experts.
- Develop or update assigned content using approved procedures, job hazard analyses, equipment information, and incident or near-miss findings.
- Partner with EHS to translate site-specific hazards, approved controls, and applicable safety and environmental requirements into practical instruction.
- Provide the LMS specialist with learning objectives, content outlines, supporting procedures or imagery, assessment questions, and passing criteria for assigned topics.
- Review assigned modules for technical accuracy and relevance to a production audience, coordinate corrections, and route safety and environmental content to EHS for final approval.
- Identify training updates needed when equipment, processes, chemicals, or procedures change.
Assessment and Administration
- Administer quizzes, simulations, practical exercises, and hands-on assessments, providing coaching and remediation as needed.
- Maintain accurate attendance, job-shadowing, assessment, qualification, and completion records, and provide required documentation to the LMS specialist.
- Track onboarding and qualification progress and promptly escalate gaps that affect readiness for assigned work.
- Use current, approved materials and procedures, and resolve outstanding questions with appropriate subject-matter experts.
- Support training schedules, classroom and equipment preparation, and future cohorts.
- Protect confidential, proprietary, customer-sensitive, and export-controlled information.
Responsibilities and tasks outlined are not exhaustive and may change based on the needs of the business.
Qualifications
- High school diploma or equivalent, with 5+ years of experience in manufacturing, production, maintenance, quality, or a related industrial environment, and two years of experience training, coaching, onboarding, or leading employees.
- Hands-on experience operating manufacturing or industrial equipment and the ability to qualify on assigned machines and processes.
- Knowledge of manufacturing safety, quality, documentation, and equipment-control practices, with the ability to interpret and follow standard operating procedures, work instructions, and technical documents.
- Working knowledge of core industrial safety topics, including hazard communication, lockout/tagout, PPE, machine guarding, and emergency response, with the ability to teach approved requirements in practical, task-level terms.
- Ability to develop and review clear safety training content from approved procedures and hazard assessments, working with EHS to confirm technical accuracy and applicable requirements.
- Strong communication, demonstration, coaching, and organizational skills, with the ability to guide job shadowing, supervise hands-on practice, facilitate group instruction, and maintain accurate training records.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and common training technology.
- Ability to report to the Raleigh R&D facility until the Benson site opens, work at the Benson facility thereafter, travel between Vulcan Elements facilities as needed, and work a flexible schedule.
Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export-controlled information or facilities.
Preferred Qualifications
- Associate or bachelor’s degree in manufacturing, engineering technology, education, workforce development, occupational safety, or a related field.
- Experience as a manufacturing trainer, lead operator, production team leader, or equipment trainer with responsibility for developing employee skills.
- Experience in advanced manufacturing, metals, powder processing, chemical processing, or similar industrial production environments.
- Experience with structured job shadowing, on-the-job training, train-the-trainer programs, and practical skills assessments.
- Familiarity with MES, ERP, learning management systems, and manufacturing procedures and work instructions.
- Completed OSHA 30-hour training, powered industrial truck train-the-trainer preparation, or experience supporting site-specific safety and environmental training.
Physical and Environmental Requirements
- The position requires substantial time on the production floor facilitating job shadowing, demonstrating equipment operation, observing work, and coaching employees. Candidates must be able to navigate the facility, climb stairs, stand and walk for extended periods, and work in environments that may be hot, humid, or noisy.
- The role requires the use of appropriate personal protective equipment, including respiratory protection when required, and adherence to applicable safety policies and procedures. Employees must complete required medical clearance and fit testing, wear appropriate PPE for assigned tasks, and respond safely to changing production conditions. Occasional off-shift training may be required to support production schedules.
Role Authority
This position may operate equipment and supervise hands-on training only after completing the required machine-specific qualification. The facilitator may evaluate employee performance but may not authorize independent equipment operation unless designated to do so under the approved qualification process. Safety and environmental training content requires final EHS approval before release.