Vast is looking for a Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Environmental Control and Life Support Systems , reporting to the Senior Manager, ECLSS Manufacturing , to support the development, production, and integration of the systems required for human-rated space stations.
This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.
- Own the manufacturing development, production readiness, and build execution of environmental control and life support system hardware for our artificial-gravity space station
- Develop, mature, and optimize manufacturing processes for ECLSS components and assemblies, from prototype builds through production and flight hardware
- Partner closely with design engineering to ensure hardware is manufacturable, reliable, inspectable, and scalable from early design trades through final production
- Create and maintain manufacturing plans, work instructions, assembly procedures, inspection plans, and production documentation
- Drive hands-on fabrication, assembly, integration, and test activities in a fast-paced hardware development environment
- Identify and resolve production issues through root cause analysis, failure investigation, corrective actions, and continuous improvement
- Lead design-for-manufacturing and design-for-assembly reviews internally and with suppliers
- Own manufacturing schedules, build sequencing, and production execution for assigned ECLSS hardware from early development through launch vehicle integration
- Work with technicians, quality, supply chain, design engineering, test engineering, avionics, software, and mission operations teams to ensure successful system integration
- Support supplier development and manufacturing readiness for externally produced components and assemblies
- Evaluate and implement manufacturing techniques for metallic, fluid, thermal, and soft-goods hardware, including machining, welding, brazing, tube bending, cleaning, bonding, and assembly
- Bring technical rigor, ownership, and continuous improvement to all aspects of manufacturing engineering
- 5+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, production engineering, or hardware development for fluid, thermal, environmental control, or life support systems
- 3+ years of hands-on hardware experience supporting fabrication, assembly, integration, and/or testing
- Experience developing manufacturing processes, work instructions, build plans, or production documentation for complex hardware
- Experience supporting production or build execution for aerospace, spacecraft, propulsion, ECLSS, thermal, fluid, or other high-reliability hardware
- Strong experience with design for manufacturing and assembly, production readiness, process development, and manufacturing risk reduction
- Proactive problem-solving skills, including failure analysis, root cause investigation, corrective action implementation, and design of experiments
- Ability to perform trade studies using first principles and engineering fundamentals to make clear recommendations with partial information
- Experience with rotating machinery, pumps, valves, heat exchangers, pressure vessels, fans, separators, or other fluid system components
- Experience with soft goods, flexible ducting, seals, insulation, or other non-metallic flight hardware
- Solid understanding and application of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, tolerance stack-up analysis, and inspection planning
- Experience with structural analysis methods, including hand calculations, FEMAP, or ANSYS, to evaluate manufacturability, strength, life, and fracture considerations
- Knowledge of metallic and fluid system manufacturing techniques, processes, equipment, and special processes, including machining, welding, brazing, tube bending, cleaning, passivation, leak testing, proof testing, and pressure testing
- Experience working directly with technicians on the shop floor to troubleshoot builds, improve processes, and execute hardware efficiently
- Ability to work well in an integrated, collaborative team environment, including frequent interaction with technicians, engineers, quality, supply chain, and managers
- Highly self-motivated with strong organizational and written/oral communication skills; able to prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment with an ongoing drive for continuous improvement