Staff Design Reliability Engineer Verified today

About the Role

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.

You will join as a Staff Design Reliability Engineer, reporting to the Director of Design Reliability, to support the development of systems required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations.

This is a full-time, exempt position located in Long Beach, California.

Your Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership: Lead technical reviews that shape artificial-gravity space habitats, providing clear guidance during milestone design reviews and major risk gates. Oversee qualification and test completeness for flight systems. Identify risks early and help teams converge on safe, resilient solutions. Evaluate complex design and operational changes to safeguard technical integrity.
• Design Excellence: Serve as architect and guardian of Vast's engineering standards, design guides, and review frameworks. Make engineering best practices accessible and actionable for engineers working under ambitious program timelines. Support and elevate engineering teams across the organization. Capture lessons learned and strengthen future standards.
• Process Ownership: Build and steward processes that ensure engineering rigor at scale. Own and refine design review templates, reliability checklists, and internal design guides. Track design maturity and compliance across the station and vehicle architecture. Build tools, frameworks, and automation that empower engineers to explore design trade-offs and risks with clarity and speed.
• Cross-Functional Influence: Work across all facets of the engineering organization to improve reliability. Partner with configuration and change management to ensure every update to flight hardware is intentional, reviewed, and fully understood. Partner with the internal software team to ensure system data, configuration details, and design decisions are well organized and accessible.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related field.
• 7+ years of experience in responsible engineering, design ownership, systems integration, test engineering, or reliability-focused development.
• Demonstrated experience conducting design reviews, qualification reviews, or major change assessments.
• Strong communicator and collaborative leader with high emotional intelligence, diplomacy, and the ability to influence at all levels.
• Resilient, curious, and committed to continuous learning in fast-paced or high-pressure environments.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Experience in Responsible Engineering, Systems Engineering, Office of the Chief Engineer, or Reliability Engineering roles on complex aerospace systems.
• Hands-on experience designing, assembling, integrating, or testing hardware.
• Background with spacecraft, aircraft, launch vehicles, or other mission- or safety-critical systems.
• Familiarity with fracture control, reliability methodologies, or human-rated hardware standards.
• Experience creating engineering standards, review templates, or technical guidance frameworks.
• Strong scripting and data analysis skills (Python, MATLAB, Excel) and familiarity with visualization tools such as Tableau.
• Knowledge of manufacturing processes, materials selection, and hardware qualification pathways.
• Strong systems-level intuition and the ability to anticipate and articulate risks early.

Additional Requirements

• Willingness to work overtime or weekends to support critical mission milestones.

Compensation and Benefits

Pay Range (California): $137,000 to $195,000 USD. Compensation is calibrated to the selected candidate's experience and demonstrated capability.

Full-time employees receive: company equity; medical, dental, and vision coverage; 20+ days vacation (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, coffee, cold drinks, and dinner meals; subsidized lunch.

U.S. Export Control Compliance

The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls. You must be a U.S. person as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.62, which includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted (not pending), or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing.