Metallurgical Engineering Intern

Role Summary

MAKING THE METALS POWERING THE WORLD

Solcoa is building the next generation of American metalmaking, starting with rare earths — the metals of power and motion. We've developed a new chemistry that converts rare earth oxides into high-purity metals — the materials inside every EV, fighter jet, wind turbine, and data center — cleaner, cheaper, and faster than any conventional process. Now we're scaling it to thousands of tonnes of annual production.

THE ROLE — METALLURGICAL ENGINEERING INTERN

Join our process team and help turn rare earth magnet waste into high-purity metals. You'll support our reactor operations, assist with alloy production, and keep our documentation tight—working with metallurgists, chemists, and technicians to move quickly from lab scale to production.

Responsibilities

• Assist with high-temperature and high-vacuum reactor operations.
• Help characterize feed materials and products using ICP-OES, SEM-EDS, LECO O/N.
• Run furnace cycles, collect process data, and summarize results to inform design iterations
• Maintain organized logs of process parameters, equipment conditions, and sample tracking
• Support equipment maintenance: vacuum systems, induction coils, thermocouples, and gas handling
• Contribute to safety-first culture and continuous improvement on the facility floor.

Requirements

• Pursuing a BS/MS in Metallurgical Engineering, Materials Science, or related field
• Exposure to pyrometallurgy, electrometallurgy, or high-temperature processing (coursework or labs).
• Hands-on experience from labs, foundry work, internships, or personal projects (furnaces, casting, heat treatment)
• Detail-oriented, disciplined documentation, and reliable follow-through
• Comfortable in a fast-paced, hardware-centric environment and willing to get your hands dirty
• On-site availability; able to start soon

PREFERRED

• Experience with vacuum or inert-atmosphere furnace operation
• Familiarity with rare-earth metallurgy, molten salt electrolysis, or reactive metal processing
• Basic thermodynamic analysis skills (Ellingham diagrams, phase diagrams, FactSage/HSC a plus)
• Welding or basic machining experience (mill/lathe)
• Python/MATLAB for data analysis
• Competitive compensation.
• Insurance provided.
• Support relocating to the Bay Area.
• Company-provided lunch daily.
• J1 Visa sponsorship available if needed.

Salary: $35 – $45 • Offers Equity • Offers Bonus