Senior Mechanical Engineer, Life Support Systems

Vast · Long Beach, California, United States · Engineering

Posted 2026-08-15

Apply for this role →

Vast is looking for a(n) Senior Mechanical Engineer Life Support Systems, reporting to the Director of Life Support Systems, to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of human-rated space stations.

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

Responsibilities:

Own the design and development of the environmental and thermal control systems for our artificial-gravity space station, from initial design trades to fully functional and validated system.

Iterate on manufacturing processes and development testing in a fast-paced environment.

Own the project delivery timeline from early design through production, launch, and orbit insertion.

Perform systems engineering tasks and fluid analyses.

Lead design reviews internally and externally with suppliers and customers.

Work with interdisciplinary stakeholders to ensure the component will integrate with the necessary avionics, software, and mission operations systems.

Make sure that all designs are manufacturable and reliable.

Bring technical excellence to everything you do.

Basic Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in an engineering or science discipline.

2+ years of experience working with fluid or environmental control systems or components.

3+ years of hands-on hardware experience performing fabrication, assembly and/or testing.

Preferred Qualifications:

Master's degree in an engineering discipline.

Proactive problem-solving skills such as failure analysis, root cause investigation, and design of experiment creation.

Ability to perform trade studies using first principles and engineering fundamentals to make clear recommendations even with partial information.

Experience with rotating machinery.

Experience with soft goods.

Experienced in NX.

Solid understanding and application of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) and tolerance stack-up analysis.

Experience with structural analysis methods (hand calcs, FEMAP, ANSYS) in order to optimize hardware to strength requirements as well as to evaluate for life and fracture.

Knowledge of metallic and fluid system manufacturing techniques, processes, equipment, and other processes such as machining, welding, brazing, tube bending, etcetera.

Able to work well in an integrated collaborative team environment, including frequent interactions with technicians, other engineers, 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 the ongoing drive for continuous improvement in all aspects of work.

Pay Range:

Engineer II, Life Support System: $112,300 - $159,460

Senior Engineer, Life Support : $137,700 - $195,550

Pay Range: California

$112,300—$195,550 USD

Apply for this role →

← Back to all jobs