Senior Manufacturing Engineer, ECLSS

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.

Responsibilities:

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

Basic Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering or science discipline

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

Preferred Qualifications

Master’s degree in an engineering discipline.

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

Experience with NX

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

Pay Range:

Manufacturing Engineer II: $112,340 - $159,468

Senior Manufacturing Engineer: $137,760 - $192,552

Staff Manufacturing Engineer: $162,360 - $230,472

Pay Range: California

$137,000—$230,000 USD