At Vast, our mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space. We are building artificial gravity space stations, allowing long-term stays in space without the adverse effects of zero-gravity. Our initial crewed space habitat will be Haven-1, scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station when it launches into low-Earth orbit in 2026. It is part of our stepping stone approach to continuous human presence in LEO. 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 Sr. Tooling Engineer, reporting to the Sr. Manager, Integration Manufacturing, 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:
- Own the design, activation, and implementation, and support fabrication, of fixtures and tooling required for Haven-1 assembly, lifting, and handling.
- Work with Integration and Manufacturing to define vehicle integration flow, manufacturing process, concepts and tooling interfaces.
- Collaborate with vehicle engineering and production to define fixture and tooling specifications, qualification plans, and introduce to production.
- Perform mechanical analysis for spacecraft fixtures.
- Develop operation and maintenance plans for all test fixtures and tooling. Assist the facilities manager(s) in all aspects of project implementation as needed
- Manage schedule on assigned projects including critical next steps, deadlines, and outcome.
- Manage vendor relationships and coordinate meetings to identify new technologies and how they can be applied to Vast’s cutting edge applications.
- Develop, test, and implement tool improvements to yield time savings or tolerance improvements.
- Coordinate tooling modifications related to part, production, or other changes.
- Work closely with engineering stakeholders and technicians to solve production-related issues.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, or other engineering discipline.
- Experience with GD&T.
- 5+ years of experience in aerospace or automotive tooling.
- 5+ years of experience in NX or other 3D CAD packages.
- Hands-on experience with handling, lifting, or building large, complex assemblies.
- Knowledge of project planning and execution practices, including logic-linked schedule management.
Preferred Skills & Experience:
- Experience with work orders and assembly instructions.
- Design of pneumatic, electrical, or hydraulic motion systems.
- Critical lifting and break overs fixtures.
- Integration tooling design.
- A passion for hardware development, including working in a fast-paced environment and hands-on design and development.
- Strong communication skills.
Additional Requirements:
- Willingness to work evenings and/or weekends to support critical mission milestones
- Ability to lift up to 25 lbs unassisted
Pay Range:
- Senior Tooling Engineer: $135,000 - $170,000
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
Top Skills
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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