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.
Vast is looking for a Manufacturing Engineer, Structures, reporting to the Manager of Structures Fabrication, to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations.
This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.
Responsibilities:
- Responsible for the build and inspection process for the assembly of the primary structure
- 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
- Document and standardize welding and other processes and own the creation and modification of manufacturing planning/work instructions
- Collaborate with other engineers, subject matter experts, and technicians to solve large-scale production challenges
- Work with design engineers to evaluate designs for manufacturability and implementation in a rapidly evolving production environment
- Resolve product non-conformances and collaborate with the quality team to implement root cause corrective actions
- Help manufacturing and engineering teams to identify, plan, and execute capital equipment, machine, and layout upgrades to meet volume production demand
- Develop and refine floor layouts, capacity models, and product flow analysis to ensure on-time vehicle delivery to manifest
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or Comparable STEM field
- One of the following:
- Extensive experience collaborating with stakeholders to implement new manufacturing processes, products, or tools, (especially involving metallic assemblies), OR
- Extensive experience collaborating with stakeholders to revise and improve existing manufacturing processes, products, or tools,(especially involving metallic assemblies)
- One of the following:
- Extensive manufacturing experience managing a product/product line across multiple work centers and/or departments, OR
- Extensive manufacturing experience managing multiple products/product lines within a single work center/department
- Experience collaborating with stakeholders to address manufacturing non-conformances and implement corrective actions
- Experience in a fast-paced development environment, especially development-to-production transitions for new products/projects
Preferred Skills & Experience:
- Experience with large-scale metal forming and/or welding processes (~Ø20 ft. assemblies)
- Experience with automated or semi-automated metal forming and/or welding processes
- Knowledge of manufacturing techniques, processes, and equipment related to welding and metal forming/rolling
- Experience transitioning complex products from R&D to production in a fast-paced environment
- Experience in a production environment within the aerospace industry
Additional Requirements:
- Ability to lift up to 25lbs unassisted
- Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones
Pay Ranges:
- Manufacturing Engineer II - $100,000 - $129,000
- Senior Manufacturing Engineer - $120,000 - $160,000
U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS
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 22 C.F.R. § 120.62 or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. This status includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending.EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
Vast Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Vast and has not been reviewed or approved by Vast.
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Healthcare Strength — Company materials describe comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents from day one, alongside primary care and mental‑health programs. These provisions are repeatedly emphasized as a core part of the total rewards package.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Information highlights generous PTO with an annual cash‑out option, paid parental leave, sick time, and company holidays, with flexible PTO for exempt staff. These features indicate broad time‑off support across multiple needs.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Onsite meals and snacks, fitness memberships or stipends, and wellness resources (e.g., One Medical and Spring Health) are prominently offered. Such perks appear designed to enhance daily work experience and overall wellbeing.
Vast Insights
What We Do
Vast is developing next-generation space stations to ensure 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 in 2026, followed by additional Haven modules to enable permanent human presence by 2030. With more than 1,000 employees at its Long Beach, California headquarters and over a billion dollars in private capital invested, Vast has built the facilities required to manufacture and operate America’s next space station. The company plans to develop future habitats for the Moon and Mars, dedicated space stations for government partners, and other crewed systems that will unlock the expanding long-term space economy.
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