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 August 2025. 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 Tooling Manager reporting to the Director of Structures Design and 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, non-exempt position located in our Long Beach location.
Responsibilities:
- Own an engineering team responsible for tooling at Vast including design, analysis, and fabrication.
- Design tooling and fabrication and build procedures with a safety first approach
- Own the design and fabrication of fixtures and tooling required for Haven-1 production, lifting, and handling.
- Define vehicle integration flow, concepts and tooling interfaces.
- Collaborate with design engineering and production to define fixture and tooling requirements, qualification plans, and introduce to production.
- Perform mechanical analysis for spacecraft fixtures.
- Define/improve tooling design standards and release specifications across the company.
- 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 similar engineering discipline
- 5+ years of experience in aerospace or automotive tooling.
- 5+ years of experience in NX or other 3D CAD packages.
- 2+ years of stress analysis (FEA/Hand Calc) experience
- Experience architecting good designs based on first principles.
- Hands-on experience with handling, lifting, or building large, complex assemblies
Preferred Skills & Experience:
- Experience with managing engineers
- Experience with GD&T.
- Experience with work orders and assembly instructions.
- Design of pneumatic, electrical, or hydraulic motion systems.
- Critical lifting and break overs fixtures.
- Integration tooling design
- Experience designing and producing large welded or fastened assemblies.
- Prior experience designing tooling for welded products.
- 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 25lbs unassisted
Pay Range:
- $140,000 - $185,000
Salary Range: California
$140,000—$185,000 USD
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
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: 100% medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, flexible paid time off for exempt staff and up to 10 days of vacation for non-exempt staff, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, free catered meals and snacks and beverages, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, One Medical membership, ClassPass credits, personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health, and other discounts and perks.
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 is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Vast is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
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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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