Vast develops commercial space stations to support sustained human activity, research, and manufacturing in low-Earth orbit and beyond.
<div class="content-intro"><p>At Vast, our mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space. Vast is developing next-generation space stations to ensure a continuous human presence in space for America and its allies, enabling advanced microgravity research and manufacturing, and unlocking a new space economy for government, corporate, and private customers. Using an incremental, hardware-rich and low-cost approach, Vast is rapidly developing its multi-module Haven Station. Haven Demo’s 2025 success made Vast the only operational commercial space station company to fly and operate its own spacecraft. Next, Haven-1 is expected to become the world’s first commercial space station when it launches, followed by additional Haven modules to enable permanent human presence by 2030. 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.</p></div><p>Vast is looking for an <strong>Avionics Test Engineer,</strong> reporting to the<strong> Manager of Avionics Testing</strong>, to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations. </p> <p>This will be a <strong>full-time</strong>, <strong>exempt</strong> position located in our <strong>L</strong><strong>ong Beach </strong>location. </p> <p><strong>Responsibilities: </strong></p> <ul> <li>Design, build, and commission test systems for avionics systems and associated electronics hardware</li> <li>Work with Responsible Engineers across the organization to capture test requirements for avionics test systems</li> <li>Develop component and system level test cases, implement them on test systems and validate their outputs with internal stakeholders</li> <li>Perform troubleshooting and debug of avionics test systems</li> <li>Lead test system design reviews for avionics test systems</li> <li>Lead and coach efforts to troubleshooting and debug efforts across the wider team</li> <li>Produce documentation for test systems and support handover to test operators</li> <li>Support architecting the automated test framework for Vast overall, and lead local efforts to implement on avionics test systems</li> <li>Work with subject matter experts to develop and implement interfaces to co-simulation strategies for Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL) applications</li> </ul> <p><strong>Minimum Qualifications:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering or other hard science</li> <li>2+ years of post bachelor’s experience working with and developing hardware test systems</li> <li>1+ years experience working with either C++ or python</li> <li>Experience operating and maintaining linux systems, including confident use of command line tools</li> <li>Experience designing and building systems with a modular DAQ ecosystem (e.g. NI, Weidmuller, Bechoff)</li> <li>Familiarity with basic electrical and wiring concepts including grounding and electrical safety</li> </ul> <p><strong>Preferred Skills & Experience:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Strong documentation and communication skills</li> <li>Hands-on experience with product testing</li> <li>Experience with testing protocols and standards relevant to space systems</li> <li>Experience coordinating and/or supervising the outputs of other engineers</li> <li>Experience developing applications in python</li> <li>Familiarity with Git, Cmake, and GNU tools</li> <li>Knowledge of CI/CD and issue tracking tools such as the Atlassian Suite (JIRA, Bitbucket, Confluence) and Github</li> <li>Understanding of Linux kernel software and drivers</li> <li>Experience with Embedded Systems</li> <li>Fault-tolerant and safety-critical software design</li> <li>Experience developing software for complex systems such as spacecraft, aircraft or autonomous vehicles</li> <li>Network programming experience</li> <li>Experience working with satellite communications or telemetry systems</li> <li>Familiarity with power supplies, electronic loads, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and digital multimeters</li> </ul> <p><strong>Additional Requirements:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Willingness to work evenings and/or weekends to support critical mission milestones</li> <li>Ability to lift up to 25lbs unassisted</li> </ul> <p><strong>Pay Range:</strong> </p> <ul> <li>Avionics Test Engineer II: $120,540-$171,108</li> <li>Senior Avionics Test Engineer: $147,600-$209,520</li> </ul><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="title">Pay Range: California</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$120,540</span><span class="divider">—</span><span>$209,520 USD</span></div></div></div><div class="content-conclusion"><p style="line-height: 1;"><strong>COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS<br></strong><br>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: medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, generous paid time off; up to 20+ days of vacation for exempt staff and up to 10+ days of vacation for non-exempt staff with the ability to cash-out unused vacation annually, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, 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 & onsite barista, 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.</p>