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>Thermal Control Systems Senior Mechanical Engineer</strong>, reporting to the<strong> Manager, Thermal Control Hardware </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, CA</strong> location. </p> <p><strong>Responsibilities: </strong></p> <ul> <li>Own the design and development of thermal control system and components for our artificial-gravity space station, from initial design trades to fully functional and validated system</li> <li>Possible thermal components include heat exchangers, cold plates, heaters, heat pipes, etc…</li> <li>Iterate on manufacturing processes and development testing in a fast-paced environment</li> <li>Own the project delivery timeline from early design through production, launch, and orbit insertion</li> <li>Perform systems engineering tasks and fluid analyses</li> <li>Lead design reviews internally and externally with suppliers and customers</li> <li>Work with interdisciplinary stakeholders to ensure the component will integrate with the necessary avionics, software, and mission operations systems</li> <li>Make sure that all designs are manufacturable and reliable</li> <li>Bring technical excellence to everything you do</li> </ul> <p><strong>Minimum Qualifications:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or other engineering discipline</li> <li>Experience working with fluid systems or components</li> <li>5+ years of hands-on hardware experience performing fabrication, assembly and/or testing</li> </ul> <p><strong>Preferred Skills & Experience:</strong></p> <ul> <li>4+ years of experience working with fluid systems or components</li> <li>Demonstrated ability to own hardware or systems within an integrated engineering team outside a classroom setting</li> <li>4+ years of hands-on hardware experience performing fabrication, assembly and/or testing</li> <li>Proactive problem-solving skills such as failure analysis, root cause investigation, and design of experiment creation</li> <li>Ability to perform trade studies using first principles and engineering fundamentals to make clear recommendations even with partial information</li> <li>Experience with rotating machinery</li> <li>Experienced in NX</li> <li>Solid understanding and application of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) and tolerance stack-up analysis</li> <li>Experience with structural analysis methods (hand calcs, FEMAP, ANSYS) in order to optimize hardware to strength requirements as well as to evaluate for life and fracture</li> <li>Knowledge of metallic and fluid system manufacturing techniques, processes, equipment, and other processes such as machining, welding, brazing, tube bending, etc.</li> <li>Able to work well in an integrated collaborative team environment, including frequent interactions with technicians, other engineers, and managers</li> <li>Highly self-motivated with strong organizational and written/oral communication skills – able to prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment with the ongoing drive for continuous improvement in all aspects of work</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>$195,552 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