Vast is looking for a Senior Mechanical Engineer reporting to the Manager, Thermal Control Hardware to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations. 

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

Responsibilities: 

• Own the design and development of the thermal control system and components for our artificial-gravity space station, including heat exchangers, cold plates, heaters, and heat pipes, from initial design trades to a fully functional, validated system
• Own the project delivery timeline from early design through production, launch, and orbit insertion
• Iterate on manufacturing processes and development testing in a fast-paced environment, making sure all designs are manufacturable and reliable
• Perform systems engineering tasks and fluid analyses, bringing technical excellence to everything you do
• Lead design reviews internally and externally with suppliers and customers
• Work with interdisciplinary stakeholders to make sure components integrate with the necessary avionics, software, and mission operations systems

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or another engineering discipline
• Experience working with fluid systems or components
• 6+ years of hands-on hardware experience
• Experience performing fabrication, assembly, and/or testing

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• 6+ years of experience working with fluid systems or components and 4+ years of hands-on hardware fabrication, assembly, and/or testing, including experience with rotating machinery
• Demonstrated ability to own hardware or systems within an integrated engineering team outside a classroom setting, working well with technicians, other engineers, and managers
• Proactive problem-solving skills, such as failure analysis, root cause investigation, and design of experiments, plus the ability to perform trade studies from first principles and engineering fundamentals to make clear recommendations even with partial information
• Experienced in NX, with a solid understanding and application of GD&T and tolerance stack-up analysis, and experience with structural analysis methods (hand calcs, FEMAP, ANSYS) to optimize hardware to strength requirements and evaluate for life and fracture
• Knowledge of metallic and fluid system manufacturing techniques, processes, and equipment, such as machining, welding, brazing, and tube bending
• Highly self-motivated with strong organizational and written/oral communication skills, able to prioritize and execute