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 a Harness Design Engineer, reporting to the Senior Manager, Harness Design to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and manufacturing of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations. This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Responsibilities</strong></p> <ul> <li>Develop the electro-mechanical design of flight wire harnesses for the Haven space station.</li> <li>Develop the electro-mechanical design of development and test harnesses to support qualification testing efforts.</li> <li>Design and analyze complex electrical architectures and wire harness systems, including development of detailed wiring diagrams, connector layouts, and system integration documentation for multi-disciplinary spacecraft/vehicle electrical systems.</li> <li>Evaluate and implement power distribution and data communication strategies, ensuring proper signal integrity across mixed power/data pathways and selecting appropriate communication protocols ( Ethernet, RS-422, USB, etc.) for system requirements.</li> <li>Develop system logic and control architectures, creating interface control documents (ICDs) and performing electrical analysis to ensure compatibility between subsystems, including power budgeting, load analysis, and signal routing optimization</li> <li>Meet with multidisciplinary stakeholders to gather harness design objectives and requirements.</li> <li>Develop harness design and routing solutions with a 3D NX CAD environment.</li> <li>Provide great flight wire harness and vehicle/system level documentation.</li> <li>Perform analysis and physical testing of harnessing with respect to thermal, loads, vibration, and shock to ensure full qualification for flight.</li> <li>Document and communicate the design, analysis, and testing results thoroughly and clearly through the use of design reviews.</li> <li>Interface with harness production and integration teams to ensure final harness designs can be produced and installed on schedule in accordance with overall project goals.</li> <li>Perform R&D investigations and trade studies to push wire harness design to new boundaries in terms of capabilities, mass savings, cost savings.<br><br><br></li> </ul> <p><strong>Minimum Qualifications</strong></p> <ul> <li>Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or other engineering discipline.</li> <li>2+ years of experience in design focused roles.</li> <li>2+ years of experience with wire harness 3D design, wiring diagrams, and formboard creation.<br><br><br></li> </ul> <p><strong>Preferred Skills & Experience</strong></p> <ul> <li>Experience designing harnesses to IPC/WHMA-A-620, IPC/WHMA-A-620-S, and NASA-STD-8739.4.</li> <li>Strong team working skills with a proven ability to effectively interact and collaborate with other engineering disciplines and excellent attention to detail.</li> <li>Experience with Siemens NX and Teamcenter.</li> <li>Wire harness component selection and qualification experience.</li> <li>General wire harness analysis, testing, and qualification experience.</li> <li>2+ years of experience with harness design and manufacturing documentation.</li> <li>Capability to solve complex design problems within tight schedules and minimal supervision.</li> <li>Passion for advancing the commercial space industry and space exploration, with a strong desire to revolutionize wire harness design.</li> <li>Ability to work in a fast-paced, autonomously driven, and demanding startup atmosphere.</li> <li>Excellent communication skills both written and verbal.</li> <li>Strong sense of personal accountability and drive to succeed.<br><br><br></li> </ul> <p>Additional Requirements</p> <ul> <li>Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones</li> <li>Ability to lift up to 25 lbs unassisted</li> </ul><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="title">Pay Range: California</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$135,000</span><span class="divider">—</span><span>$190,000 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