Fall 2026
Metallurgical Engineering Intern
Solcoa Industries
11-50 employees
Produces carbon-zero rare earth metals
Compensation Overview
$35 - $45/hr
San Francisco, CA, USA + 1 more
More locations: Alameda, CA, USA
In Person
On-site role; relocation support to the Bay Area is available.
Bachelor's, Master's
 Mechanical Engineering |
|---|
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- Pursuing a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Metallurgical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related field.
- Exposure to pyrometallurgy, electrometallurgy, or high-temperature processing through coursework or laboratories.
- Hands-on experience from laboratories, foundry work, internships, or personal projects involving furnaces, casting, or heat treatment.
- Detail-oriented, disciplined documentation, and reliable follow-through.
- Comfort working in a fast-paced, hardware-centric environment and willingness to perform hands-on work.
- Availability to work on-site and ability to start soon.
- Assist with high-temperature and high-vacuum reactor operations.
- Help characterize feed materials and products using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and LECO oxygen/nitrogen analysis.
- 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 involving vacuum systems, induction coils, thermocouples, and gas handling.
- Contribute to safety and continuous improvement on the facility floor.
- Experience with vacuum or inert-atmosphere furnace operation.
- Familiarity with rare-earth metallurgy, molten salt electrolysis, or reactive metal processing.
- Basic thermodynamic analysis skills, including Ellingham diagrams, phase diagrams, or FactSage/HSC.
- Welding or basic machining experience using a mill or lathe.
- Experience using Python or MATLAB for data analysis.
Solcoa Industries develops and produces carbon-zero rare earth metals in San Francisco, focusing on Neodymium (Nd), Dysprosium (Dy), Terbium (Tb), and Praseodymium (Pr). Its main activity is the direct production and sale of these critical metals to manufacturers, aiming to reduce Western dependence on foreign-processed rare earths. The company uses a proprietary carbon-zero production method to create these metals, addressing environmental concerns and creating an alternative to traditional processing methods. This sets Solcoa apart from competitors by offering a North American supply chain that emphasizes decarbonization and industrial independence rather than relying on overseas supply. Its stated goal is to decarbonize and stabilize the essential rare earths supply chain for Western industries, strengthening domestic manufacturing and strategic materials security.
Company Size
11-50
Company Stage
N/A
Total Funding
N/A
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
Founded
2023
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- 8090 Industries, Gigascale Capital, and a16z scouts backed Solcoa by March 2025.
- Forbes valued Solcoa at $100 million and highlighted its California pilot plant.
- Hiring for recruiters, technicians, and interns signals active expansion across operations and engineering.
What critics are saying
- Solcoa still lacks public customer contracts, so revenue concentration can cripple 2027 scaling.
- Environmental permitting with BAAQMD and CUPA can stall Alameda operations before mid-2027.
- Chinese refiners dominate rare earth processing; price compression can crush Solcoa's margins quickly.
What makes Solcoa Industries unique
- Solcoa Alameda targets 500 tonnes yearly by mid-2027, unlike most Western peers.
- Solcoa One already produces 10 tonnes annually of NdPr metal in California.
- Solcoa converts magnet waste into high-purity metals using a proprietary low-carbon process.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
Company-provided lunch daily
Visa sponsorship available if needed