Senior Materials Scientist (Rare-Earth Magnets)

Location: Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States. On-site R&D work at the Research Triangle Park laboratory in direct support of the Benson, North Carolina manufacturing facility. U.S. Person status is required due to access to export-controlled information.

Company

hirify.global manufactures American rare-earth permanent magnets for defense, aerospace, automotive, and other critical industries.

What you will do

• Develop, qualify, and optimize metallic, passivation, and polymer coatings for sintered NdFeB magnets.
• Design coating-process experiments and correlate process variables with coating quality, adhesion, and corrosion performance.
• Perform materials characterization and failure analysis using SEM/EDS, XRD, optical microscopy, coating-thickness and adhesion testing, and accelerated corrosion testing.
• Manage external coating suppliers and toll processors, including vendor qualification, process and quality-system audits, and outsourced coating runs.
• Lead root-cause investigations and corrective and preventive actions for coating defects, corrosion failures, and quality escapes.
• Create process documentation, test protocols, and supplier specifications, and present results and recommendations to cross-functional partners and leadership.

Requirements

• Master’s or Ph.D. degree in Materials Science, Metallurgical Engineering, Chemistry, or a related technical field.
• At least 3 years of hands-on industrial or manufacturing R&D experience with metallic coatings, surface finishing, or corrosion protection.
• Working proficiency with SEM/EDS, XRD, optical microscopy, coating-thickness and adhesion testing.
• Experience with structured failure analysis, design of experiments, and statistical analysis of process and test data.
• Experience managing external suppliers or contract processors, including vendor qualification, quality-system audits, and schedule coordination.
• U.S. Person status required because the role involves access to export-controlled information.

Nice to have

• Experience with rare-earth permanent magnets, NdFeB corrosion behavior, or protective coatings.
• Exposure to powder-metallurgy processing, including pressing and vacuum sintering.
• Proficiency with Python, MATLAB, or JMP/Minitab for manufacturing and quality datasets.
• Familiarity with ISO 9001 or IATF 16949 quality-management systems.
• Startup or fast-scaling manufacturing experience.

Culture & Benefits

• Hands-on individual-contributor role with influence over the development and qualification of a new production facility.
• Work across R&D, powder metallurgy, process engineering, production, suppliers, and quality systems.
• Strict laboratory safety protocols and regulatory compliance are required.
• Required PPE includes lab coats, safety glasses, gloves, and additional protective equipment for specific procedures or chemical handling.
• Required safety training and maintenance of a clean, compliant laboratory work area.