Lead Manufacturing Engineer, Thermal Control Systems Verified today

About Vast

Vast is developing next-generation space stations and space infrastructure using an incremental, hardware-rich, and low-cost approach. Haven Demo's 2025 success made Vast the only operational commercial space station company to fly and operate its own spacecraft. Haven-1 is expected to become the world's first commercial space station when it launches in 2027, followed by additional Haven modules.

Role

You will lead the thermal control systems (TCS) manufacturing engineering team, reporting to the Manager, Structures and Fluids Manufacturing. This is a full-time, exempt position in Long Beach, California.

Responsibilities

• Lead the TCS manufacturing engineering team day to day: set priorities, assign ownership, run team rhythms, and mentor engineers
• Participate in hiring and onboarding new engineers to the team
• Own manufacturing development, production readiness, and build execution for TCS hardware, including pumps, fluid loops, coldplates, heaters, and tubing, while staying hands-on with your own hardware
• Own the TCS manufacturing schedule and build sequencing across concurrent vehicle builds
• Report hardware status, risks, and mitigation plans to program leadership, including a regular company-wide TCS hardware status update
• Partner with design engineering to drive design for manufacturing and assembly and production readiness from early design trades through flight hardware
• Drive development and qualification of special processes including welding, brazing, tube bending, cleaning, passivation, leak testing, and pressure testing
• Set standards for work instructions, inspection plans, and nonconformance disposition; drive root cause and corrective action to closure
• Work with technicians, quality, supply chain, test, integration, and M&P teams to ensure successful system integration
• Support supplier development and manufacturing readiness for externally produced components and assemblies

Minimum 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
• Experience mentoring engineers or leading a workstream, build, or small team (formal people management experience not required)

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Master's degree in an engineering discipline
• Experience as a technical lead, project lead, or informal team lead on hardware programs
• Experience participating in hiring and interviewing engineers
• Strong interest in developing into a people manager
• 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, coldplates, 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

Compensation and Benefits

Base salary range: $120,000 to $194,000 USD. Compensation varies based on job-related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand.

Full-time employees receive company equity and a comprehensive benefits package including: medical, dental, and vision coverage; paid time off with 20+ days of vacation for exempt staff; paid parental leave; short and long-term disability insurance; life insurance; 401(k) retirement plan; ClassPass credits; personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health; free snacks, drip coffee, onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals; and subsidized lunch.

Export Control Requirement

You must be a U.S. person as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.62, or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. This includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents, and asylees and refugees with such status granted.