At Vast, our mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space. We are building artificial gravity space stations, allowing long-term stays in space without the adverse effects of zero-gravity. Our initial crewed space habitat will be Haven-1, scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station when it launches into low earth orbit in May 2026. Our team is all-in, committed to executing our mission safely and on time. If you want to work with the most talented people on Earth furthering space exploration for humanity, come join us.
Vast is looking for an Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Mechanical Sub-Assemblies, reporting to the Manager, Mechanical Sub-Assemblies, to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations. This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach, CA location.
Responsibilities:
- Collaborate with design teams to provide input on the manufacturability and assembly processes of secondary structures.
- Develop and optimize manufacturing processes and onboard equipment for manufacturing of secondary structures, considering factors such as efficiency, quality, and cost-effectiveness.
- Create and maintain detailed manufacturing plans, assembly procedures, and work instructions to ensure consistent and accurate production of structures systems.
- Identify and resolve manufacturing challenges by conducting root cause analysis and implementing corrective actions.
- Work closely with suppliers to ensure timely delivery of high-quality secondary structures components, reviewing and approving supplier manufacturing processes.
- Participate in design reviews, providing valuable insights to improve the manufacturability and reliability of secondary structures components.
- Collaborate with quality assurance teams to establish and maintain rigorous quality control processes.
- Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives, identifying opportunities to enhance manufacturing efficiency, reduce waste, and improve overall product quality.
- Stay up-to-date with industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in manufacturing to drive innovation within the company
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or Comparable STEM field
- One of the following:
- Extensive manufacturing experience managing a product/product line across multiple workcenters and/or departments, OR
- Extensive manufacturing experience managing multiple products/product lines within a single workcenter/department
- One of the following:
- Experience collaborating with stakeholders to implement new manufacturing processes, products, or tools, OR
- Experience collaborating with stakeholders to revise and improve existing manufacturing processes, products, or tools
- Experience collaborating with stakeholders to address manufacturing non-conformances and implement corrective actions
- Strong knowledge of GD&T and DFM, especially related to components and sub-assemblies
Preferred Skills & Experience:
- Experience with assembly tooling design for large mechanical structures, including planning and directing critical lift operations
- Experience with capacity planning and new work center bring-up
- Demonstrated project management experience
- Ability to work collaboratively and influence others outside of your organization
- Excellent communication skills
Additional Requirements:
- Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones
- Ability to lift up to 25lbs unassisted
Pay Ranges:
- Senior Manufacturing Engineer: $120,000 - $160,000
- Staff Manufacturing Engineer: $150,000 - $200,000
Salary Range: California
$120,000—$200,000 USD
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
Base salary will vary depending on job-related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand. Salary is just one component of our comprehensive compensation package. Full-time employees also receive company equity, as well as access to a full suite of compelling benefits and perks, including: 100% medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, flexible paid time off for exempt staff and up to 10 days of vacation for non-exempt staff, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, One Medical membership, ClassPass credits, personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health, and other discounts and perks.We also take pride in offering exceptional food perks, with snacks, drip coffee, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge, and lunch subsidized as part of Vast’s ongoing commitment to providing high-quality meals for employees.
U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS
The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore, must either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.62 or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. This status includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
Vast is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Vast is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
Top Skills
What We Do
Vast is developing artificial gravity space stations to expand humanity across the solar system.
Vast’s mission is to enable large populations of humans to live and work in space, permanently.
Our solar system has the resources and room for humanity to thrive and expand without destroying Earth’s biosphere. Unlocking these resources requires in-space infrastructure and industry at an unprecedented scale.
We are building a world-class team to engineer the human experience in space.
Why Work With Us
We're developing artificial gravity space stations to expand humanity across the solar system in order to enable large populations to live and work in space. Not only is what we're working on groundbreaking, but the team prides itself on living by our values of respect, curiosity, action, and excellence making it a lot more fun to achieve our goal.
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