Facilities and Equipment Manager
Niron Magnetics
Niron Magnetics is a venture-backed pre-revenue business developing the only known magnetic material with the potential to displace widely used rare earth permanent magnets at commercial scale. These rare earth permanent magnets are found in electric motors, generators, sensors, actuators, and a variety of everyday machines. They are critical to the green economy. Unfortunately, the mining and refining of rare earth materials incur harsh social and environmental costs. Further, reliance on rare earth permanent magnets represents a strategic supply chain risk, creates a geopolitical vulnerability and creates risk of supply shortages.
Niron’s Clean Earth MagnetTM is free of critical materials (including rare earth elements), which eliminates the environmental damage caused by their use. It is made up of abundant commodity inputs enabling a secure supply chain. Niron is comprised of a team of engineers, scientists, and business leaders with a desire to make a positive impact in our community.
Niron is supported by both the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Defense. Strategic investors include Volvo Cars and Western Digital Capital. Financial investors include Anzu Partners and Artiman Ventures. We are growing our production team as we prepare to commercialize Clean Earth MagnetsTM.
About the Position:
The Facilities and Equipment Manager is responsible for world-class management, maintenance, and operation of Niron’s Minneapolis-based R&D and Commercial Pilot facilities. These facilities are used for development and pilot production of Niron’s Clean Earth MagnetTM product. This Manager will also oversee a group of equipment and facilities engineers that are responsible for all facilities, process, and analytical equipment, both existing and under procurement. A critical responsibility will be to ensure that Niron’s facilities meet all Niron and Regulatory requirements for security and safety. This role will report to Niron’s Chief Operating Officer and will be based out of Niron’s Minneapolis, MN facility.
Primary Roles and Responsibilities:
- SAFETY COMPLIANCE: Ensure all facilities and equipment are managed in accordance with Niron’s EH&S policies and procedures as well as local, state and federal safety standards and regulations.
- EXCELLENCE: Create a world-class facility, ensuring the facilities and equipment reliably and safely meet the needs of R&D and production.
- PEOPLE: As Niron’s facilities and equipment profile expands in Minneapolis, manage the existing team of engineers. In addition, recruit and train facility and equipment staff, ensuring they have the necessary resources and training to perform their roles effectively.
- FACILITIES EXPANSION: While Niron’s facility footprint expands in Minneapolis, work with the facilities construction Project Manager and 3rd party contractors to ensure space allocation, layout and design meet Niron’s needs.
- SECURITY: Oversee all site security systems and personnel.
- SUSTAINABILITY: Continuously improve and build upon Niron’s sustainability values with respect to facilities operations.
- ASSET MANAGEMENT: Track all facilities and production equipment and ensure changes with asset tracking are communicated to finance.
- BUILDING AUTOMATION: Ensure all building automation systems meet operational requirements and stay informed of latest trends in facility management systems.
- MAINTENANCE: Coordinate with landlord on building maintenance, including HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and structural systems. This will also involve overseeing janitorial services and landscaping.
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s or higher degree in facilities management, business administration, engineering, or a related field
- Minimum 10-15 years of direct experience managing facilities in commercial production environments
- Deep understanding of all relevant building systems, including HVAC, electrical, plumbing, building automation and other core building systems
- Experience managing facilities and/or equipment engineering teams
Preferred Qualifications:
- Certified Facility Manager (CFM)
- Experience with facility renovation and/or construction projects
- Project management experience
- Experience using CAD or related software
- Strong soft skills in Management and Leadership
- Ability to communicate effectively with company personnel across all levels of the organization
- Quality and Customer mindset
- Exceptional organizational skills / high consideration for detail
For more information on Niron: