Laboratory Technician

About Us

We are on a mission to become a leading supplier of critical materials that enable the green energy and technology revolution. Our materials and technologies are required for the electric vehicle, green energy, consumer electronics, and defense industries. We supply battery-grade lithium and tech metals for chipsets, semiconductors, and 5G. We have a substantial interest in the Round Top Heavy Rare Earth, Lithium, and Critical Minerals deposit in West Texas. We have developed the United States’ first rare earth and critical minerals processing facility and own the only scalable, sintered neo-magnet manufacturing system in the Western Hemisphere. By developing this fully integrated, US-based “mine-to-magnet” critical mineral supply chain, we are poised to become the leading domestic supplier to these industries.

At USA Rare Earth, we are pioneers and problem solvers, technologists and team players. Together, we:

• Build Solutions: We are creative and solution-oriented, thinking outside the box to solve important problems. We work across sectors and alongside customers to deliver world-class solutions in sustainable ways.
• Deliver Quality: We hold ourselves to the highest quality standards, ensuring top-tier quality leads to industry competitiveness. Safety, quality, and excellence always come first.
• Lead Responsibly: We prioritize safety, take accountability for our actions, incorporate sustainable practices, and act with the financial best interest of our investors and consumers in mind.
• Win Together: We communicate openly, work together, and challenge each other in pursuit of our goals. Every step we take helps us learn and improve.

About the Role

The Laboratory Technician plays a crucial role in the chemical process, developing permanent rare earth magnets. This role is suited for a motivated, self-starter who thrives in a team environment, with strong attention to detail, organization, and a desire for continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Follows laboratory safety procedures.
• Assists with and performs routine chemical and metallurgical analysis and reporting.
• Maintains laboratory process equipment and instrumentation.
• Reviews analytical results, researches discrepancies, and reports anomalous results to the lab manager and magnet technology team.
• Performs routine and non-routine analysis, including chemical, magnetic, and a wide variety of product, process, project, research, and environmental samples from all areas of the operation.
• Maintains and troubleshoots laboratory instrumentation.
• Assists in tracking and maintaining the chemical reagent inventory.
• Cleans and maintains workstation(s) after use to ensure laboratory instrumentation/equipment is in safe working order.
• Performs laboratory housekeeping and routine inspections.
• Prioritizes analytical work with the magnet technology team.
• Actively participates in safety management programs and adheres to all appropriate laboratory safety and operations procedures.
• Complies with all health, environmental, and safety regulations, company policies, processes, and procedures.
• Completes other tasks as needed.

Requirements

• Associate or bachelor’s degree in chemistry, science, or electronics-related area.
• 1-3 years of laboratory work experience.
• Knowledge or experience related to experimental research and the scientific method.
• Knowledge of laboratory instruments used for materials chemical characterization.
• Knowledge of rare earth element chemical test methods, pulse-field magnetometry, and closed-loop magnetometry is desired but not required.
• Knowledge of sample preparation for microstructure analysis.
• Aptitude for hands-on projects and technical problem-solving.
• Computer skills for logging and organizing large data sets.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions.

• Specific vision abilities required include close and distance vision.
• Regularly required to walk, stand, move, sit, carry, bend, kneel, reach, push, pull, lift, use hands and fingers, handle or feel, talk, and hear.
• May be required to lift and move boxes or packages not exceeding 20 pounds.
• Some work stress inherent to the position and extended work hours may be required.

Work Environment

Noise level exposure will vary and may include:

• Normal office noise.
• Typical laboratory sounds (e.g., ventilation systems, equipment operation).
• Manufacturing floor noise (e.g., machinery, forklifts).
• Construction site noise, depending on project phase and location.