Manufacturing Engineering, Fluid Systems

Vast • Long Beach, CA

6d • Onsite

About The Position

Vast is hiring a Manufacturing Engineer, Fluid Systems, to help develop systems for its human-rated space stations. The role involves designing, building, and testing manufacturing solutions for space technology, particularly tubing systems for the Haven-1 program. The position is full-time, exempt, and located in Long Beach, California. Vast welcomes applicants across a range of experience levels and calibrates the level and compensation to the selected candidate’s experience and demonstrated capability.

The engineer will develop tube-bending and welding cells, lead first-build and test efforts, create manufacturing documentation, and support production of bent and welded tubing. The role works closely with design, integration, production, quality assurance teams, and external vendors to execute builds, improve production capability, and maintain quality. Evening and/or weekend work may be needed to support critical mission milestones.

Vast has more than 1,000 employees and is headquartered in Long Beach, California. Full-time employees receive company equity and access to benefits including medical, dental, and vision coverage, paid time off, paid parental leave, disability and life insurance, a 401(k) plan, ClassPass credits, personalized mental healthcare, food perks, and other discounts and perks.

Requirements

• B.S. in mechanical, aerospace, manufacturing, or electrical engineering; physics; mathematics; or a related technical field.
• At least 2 years of manufacturing experience managing a product or product line across multiple work centers and/or departments, involving fluid, pressurized, propulsion, or environmental-control hardware in design, manufacturing, or test.
• Manufacturing Engineer II: 2–4+ years of experience.
• Senior Manufacturing Engineer: 4–6+ years of experience.
• Hands-on fabrication, assembly, and/or integration experience.
• CAD proficiency, with NX preferred; ability to review designs, generate manufacturing documentation, and design assembly or test tooling.
• Willingness to work evenings and/or weekends to support critical mission milestones.

Nice To Haves

• Hands-on experience building or testing hardware in industry or through student teams such as Formula SAE, rocketry, CubeSat, or robotics.
• Experience with aerospace, spacecraft, propulsion, or other safety-critical or high-reliability hardware.
• Experience taking designs or processes from concept through build or test, and from R&D to production.
• Familiarity with CAD tools, ideally Siemens NX, and PLM tools such as Teamcenter.
• Exposure to thermal or structural analysis using Ansys or similar tools.
• Awareness of aerospace workmanship, design, and environmental test standards such as IPC, SMC-S-016, NASA-STD-5001, or MIL-STD-810.
• Proficiency applying GD&T.
• Strong problem-solving skills, including troubleshooting and structured root-cause analysis.
• Strong attention to detail, clear communication, and ability to work well in cross-functional teams.
• Senior-level candidates: experience mentoring engineers or technicians and managing multiple projects at once.

Responsibilities

• Conceptualize, develop, and manufacture tube-bending and welding cells for the Haven-1 program.
• Lead first-build and test efforts, including design integration, assembly sequencing, mBOM development, work order creation, and specification authoring.
• Create and maintain manufacturing plans, assembly procedures, and work instructions for tubing systems.
• Identify and resolve manufacturing challenges through root-cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Use critical thinking and problem-solving to improve efficient human-spaceflight production within aggressive timelines.
• Collaborate with design engineers, integration engineers, production teams, and external vendors to execute builds efficiently.
• Develop capability-driven tooling solutions to streamline production, increase system output, and reduce operational burden.
• Partner with quality assurance teams to establish and maintain quality control processes.
• Establish and maintain standard practices, troubleshooting guides, and standardized repair procedures; review and approve related planning documents.
• Support day-to-day production of bent tubes, orbital tube welding (OTW), and manually welded tubing, ensuring efficiency and adherence to quality standards.
• Evaluate and challenge tubing-assembly production and design requirements using data-driven insights to eliminate waste and optimize manufacturing.
• Continuously improve production systems, efficiency, waste reduction, and product quality.

Benefits

• Company equity.
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents.
• Paid time off, including up to 20+ vacation days for 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.
• Snacks, drip coffee, cold drinks, and dinner meals at no charge; subsidized lunch.
• Other discounts and perks.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level