Senior Mechanical Engineer, Lunar Verified today

About the Role

Vast is developing next-generation space stations and infrastructure using an incremental, hardware-rich, 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 launch in 2027, followed by additional modules. Now Vast is expanding to lunar systems.

As Senior Mechanical Engineer, Lunar, you'll report to the Senior Vice President, Lunar Programs and support development of systems for Vast's lunar ecosystem. You'll leverage technology and knowledge built across Haven Demo, Haven-1, Haven Station, and Vast Satellite programs to create humanity's next era of lunar exploration.

As one of the earliest Mechanical Engineers on the Lunar team, you'll play an outsized part in developing Vast's lunar ecosystem. You'll cover a wide range of components and systems for the Moon, taking products from concept through test. You will be a full-ownership responsible engineer with broad knowledge spanning mechanical design, power systems, fluid systems, mechanisms, and materials engineering.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end lunar engineering projects such as solar and battery power stations, gas and fluids consumables pallets, airlocks, nodes, habitation modules, hatches, and docking systems
• Lead trade studies on lunar designs, interfacing with power, thermal, avionics, life support, and industrial design teams
• Work with lunar subject matter experts and systems architects to bring lunar concepts to reality that mesh with Vast's larger lunar ecosystem and NASA's Moon Base architecture
• Develop and maintain CAD models (NX or equivalent), flowing design intent through to fabrication and release
• Drive fabrication, assembly, and integration of hardware, partnering with manufacturing and integration teams on design-for-manufacturing
• Lead hardware bring-up, checkout, and anomaly resolution
• Represent your systems at design reviews and program milestones

Minimum Qualifications

• B.S. in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, materials engineering, mathematics, physics, or related technical discipline
• 6+ years of experience in mechanical design for space applications, with direct ownership of hardware from design through test
• Hands-on CAD proficiency (NX or equivalent) with experience taking mechanical/electromechanical/fluids designs from concept through flight release
• Demonstrated experience owning a hardware subsystem end-to-end (design, build, integration, and test), not solely in an analysis or support capacity
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, fluid schematics, and electrical circuit diagrams
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal skills, and ability to communicate technical information to non-technical partners

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience working on lunar engineering programs
• Experience designing or delivering deployable spacecraft structures (solar arrays, booms, masts, or similar mechanisms)
• Experience with battery system design, sizing, or qualification for space applications
• Familiarity with the lunar surface or deep-space thermal, radiation, and solar environment (or equivalent extreme-environment design experience)
• Experience leading hardware through formal verification campaigns (functional, environmental, vibration, thermal-vacuum)
• Prior experience in a fast-paced commercial space or startup hardware environment, comfortable with high ownership and limited process overhead

Additional Requirements

• Ability to travel up to 5% of the time to support vendors, partnership or customer meetings
• Willingness to work evenings and/or weekends to support critical mission milestones

Compensation

Base salary: $137,000 to $230,000 USD, depending on experience and demonstrated capability. Compensation includes company equity and benefits: medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents; generous paid time off (20+ days vacation for exempt staff, 10+ days for non-exempt staff with annual cash-out option); 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, coffee, barista service, cold drinks, and dinner meals; subsidized lunch.

Employment Details

Full-time, exempt position located in Long Beach, California.

U.S. Export Control Compliance

The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore must either 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 (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending.