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 has multiple <strong>Structures Manufacturing Engineer </strong>openings, reporting to the<strong> Manager of Structures Fabrication, </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>Long Beach</strong> location. </p> <p><strong>Responsibilities: </strong></p> <ul> <li>Responsible for the build and inspection process for the assembly of the primary structure</li> <li>Develop and refine manufacturing processes, including: welding, trimming, shearing, rolling, bending, and more to meet all design and business requirements including safety, quality, efficiency and delivery</li> <li>Document and standardize welding and other processes and own the creation and modification of manufacturing planning/work instructions</li> <li>Collaborate with other engineers, subject matter experts, and technicians to solve large-scale production challenges</li> <li>Work with design engineers to evaluate designs for manufacturability and implementation in a rapidly evolving production environment</li> <li>Resolve product non-conformances and collaborate with the quality team to implement root cause corrective actions</li> <li>Help manufacturing and engineering teams to identify, plan, and execute capital equipment, machine, and layout upgrades to meet volume production demand</li> <li>Develop and refine floor layouts, capacity models, and product flow analysis to ensure on-time vehicle delivery to manifest</li> </ul> <p><strong>Minimum Qualifications:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or Comparable STEM field</li> <li>One of the following:</li> <ul> <li>Extensive experience collaborating with stakeholders to implement new manufacturing processes, products, or tools, (especially involving metallic assemblies), OR</li> <li>Extensive experience collaborating with stakeholders to revise and improve existing manufacturing processes, products, or tools,(especially involving metallic assemblies)</li> </ul> <li>One of the following:</li> <ul> <li>Extensive manufacturing experience managing a product/product line across multiple work centers and/or departments, OR</li> <li>Extensive manufacturing experience managing multiple products/product lines within a single work center/department</li> </ul> <li>Experience collaborating with stakeholders to address manufacturing non-conformances and implement corrective actions</li> <li>Experience in a fast-paced development environment, especially development-to-production transitions for new products/projects</li> </ul> <p><strong>Preferred Skills & Experience:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Experience with large-scale metal forming and/or welding processes (~Ø20 ft. assemblies)</li> <li>Experience with automated or semi-automated metal forming and/or welding processes</li> <li>Knowledge of manufacturing techniques, processes, and equipment related to welding and metal forming/rolling</li> <li>Experience transitioning complex products from R&D to production in a fast-paced environment</li> <li>Experience in a production environment within the aerospace industry</li> </ul> <p><strong>Additional Requirements:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Ability to lift up to 25lbs unassisted</li> <li>Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones</li> </ul> <p><strong>Pay Ranges:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Manufacturing Engineer I: $86,100 - $122,220</li> <li>Manufacturing Engineer II: $112,340 - $159,468</li> <li>Senior Manufacturing Engineer: $137,760 - $195,552</li> <li>Staff Manufacturing Engineer: $162,360 - $230,472</li> </ul><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="title">Pay Range: California</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$86,100</span><span class="divider">—</span><span>$230,472 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