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<strong> Senior Mechanical Design Engineer, Avionics</strong>, reporting to the<strong> Senior Manager of Mechanical Engineering, Avionics, </strong>to support the development of the Avionics, RF, Power, or GNC systems for the design and build of 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>Function in a cross disciplinary team and a dynamic design environment</li> <li>Support electronics development and trade studies, and create interface definition, specification, and control documents</li> <li>Validate requirements through design, test, analysis, or inspection</li> <li>Plan and conduct tests, review and interpret data</li> <li>Create assembly and/or installation drawings and support hardware builds</li> <li>Design avionics enclosure and mounting solutions for high reliability in harsh environments</li> <li>Participate in the entire design cycle of flight and mission critical avionics</li> <li>Work with the electrical engineering team to design rugged printed circuit board systems</li> <li>Complete thermal and structural analyses of these designs</li> <li>Create engineering drawings and manage the product configuration of the integrated designs through the product lifecycle</li> <li>Review test plans and manage testing and qualification of the product</li> <li>Design and/or support integration brackets of avionics components into the space station</li> </ul> <p><strong>Minimum Qualifications:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Bachelors of science degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or other engineering discipline.</li> <li>5+ years of experience with electronics packaging and/or critical electronic components in extreme environments.</li> <li>Working experience with 3D CAD programs.</li> <li>Experience with GD&T implementation and analysis (ASME Y14.5).</li> </ul> <p><strong>Preferred Skills & Experience:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Masters of science degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or other engineering discipline.</li> <li>Working experience with NX preferred.</li> <li>Experience designing ruggedized electronics enclosures or similar high-performance hardware.</li> <li>Familiarity with environmental testing similar to SMC-S-016, and/or MIL-STD-810.</li> <li>Familiarity with circuit card design per IPC-A-610 and/or J standards.</li> <li>Thermal and structural analysis experience using ANSYS or similar.</li> <li>Experience with electrical schematic reviews and electrical schematic capture software (Altium or similar).</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 25 lbs unassisted</li> </ul> <p><strong>Pay Range: </strong></p> <ul> <li>Senior Mechanical Design Engineer III: $137,760 - $195,552</li> <li>Staff Mechanical Design Engineer IV: $186,960 - $265,392</li> </ul><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="title">Pay Range: California</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$137,760</span><span class="divider">—</span><span>$265,392 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> <p style="line-height: 1;"><strong><br>U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS<br><br></strong>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 <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/section-120.62">22 C.F.R. § 120.62</a> or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. This status includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents