Assembly Integration & Test Engineer, Satellites

This is the founding Assembly, Integration & Test Engineer position for the satellites vertical. The team has two openings available at L2, Senior, or Staff level. You will not be inheriting a factory, a set of procedures, or a test stand — you will be building them. You own how a Vast satellite gets physically built, integrated, and proven flightworthy, from the first development unit through a production line that has to turn out flight hardware at rate.

You will write the integration flow and the test philosophy, stand up the environmental test capability and the ground support equipment, lead the campaigns that use them, and then feed what you learn back into the design so the next ten units build faster than the last. You'll do this working directly alongside the discipline leads for structures, avionics, thermal, power, GNC, and flight software.

If you want to define how spacecraft get built at a company rather than execute someone else's definition of it, this is that job.

This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.

Responsibilities:

Integration & Test

Lead and own integration and test campaigns at every level of spacecraft development — component, box, subsystem, and full vehicle

Define the test philosophy for the bus: what gets acceptance tested, what gets protoqualified, what qualifies by similarity, and how that philosophy holds up as we move from a one-off development unit to rate production

Develop acceptance, qualification, and R&D test plans for spacecraft systems, and drive them through execution and closure

Work with systems and subsystems leads to defining requirements and the verification and validation plans that close them

Develop, maintain, and operate environmental test systems — random vibration, TVAC, thermal cycling, EMI/EMC, mass properties

Design, build, and maintain mechanical and electrical ground support equipment (MGSE/EGSE) and the facilities that house it

Interface with ground test software, implement flight software configuration changes for test, and work hands-on with hardware-in-the-loop test systems

Own test data: what we record, how it's reviewed, what constitutes a pass, and how results get back to the responsible engineer

Assembly & Manufacturing

Partner with Design Engineering to drive Design for Manufacture and Design for Test into the bus while the design is still moving — access, fastener reach, connector orientation, test point availability, handling and lift points

Design, procure, install, and validate assembly, test, and verification processes, including the tooling, fixtures, and work instructions behind them

Support development builds to surface early learnings and retire integration risk ahead of production ramp

Triage and diagnose failures, run deep technical investigations, and determine the path forward — containment, risk mitigation, and root cause resolution

Drive process improvements across manufacturing, test, and integration, with an explicit eye toward repeatability across many identical vehicles

Contribute to change management, assessing the risk and impact of design or process changes on build and test

Plan and specify the integration facility footprint as the program scales — clean room, integration bay, test cell, and the flow between them

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline

8+ years of experience in test engineering, integration, or another hands-on hardware engineering role

Hands-on experience with spacecraft or complex flight hardware integration.

Experience with environmental testing, including thermal vacuum and random vibration

Experience developing and executing test plans and procedures from scratch, and writing the technical documentation that supports them (procedures, test reports, requirements, discrepancy reports)

Proficiency with at least one of C, C++, Python, or MATLAB for test automation, data reduction, or GSE control

Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot hardware failures under schedule pressure and drive them to root cause

Comfortable operating without an established process

Preferred Skills & Experience:

Able to obtain a security clearance

Master's or PhD in electrical, electronics, mechatronics, aerospace, or another engineering discipline

Strong working knowledge of satellite subsystems (C&DH, ADCS, EPS, COMM) and how they come together at the vehicle level

Experience with multi-unit or constellation builds, where the integration flow has to be repeatable across 10+ identical vehicles rather than optimized for one

Clean room operations and ESD-sensitive hardware handling experience

Hands-on with electrical test equipment (PSU, oscilloscope, DMM, spectrum analyzer)

Experience designing and implementing automated test systems for electronics

Understanding of sensors, signal conditioning, and data acquisition electronics

Familiarity with spacecraft harness design, build, and test best practices

3D CAD proficiency, preferably NX

RF testing and hardware-in-the-loop testing experience

Familiarity with IPC/J-STD workmanship standards and IPC Class 3 space applications

Launch site or launch campaign experience

Additional Requirements:

This is an on-site role at our Long Beach, CA facility

Willingness to work extended hours and weekends as required to support build and test campaigns, particularly around major milestones and launch

Ability to work in a clean room environment and around ESD-sensitive hardware

Ability to lift up to 25 lbs unassisted and work in confined or elevated spaces around flight hardware

Occasional travel to suppliers, test facilities, and the launch site

Pay Range: California

$112,340—$230,472 USD