Build Engineer

Location: Long Beach, California, United States

Department: Engineering - Structures

Vast is looking for a Build Engineer, reporting to the Manager, Structures Design, 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 location. 

Responsibilities: 

• Develop, author, and maintain manufacturing planning documentation and work instructions for flight hardware to enable safe, repeatable builds.
• Design and implement tooling for manufacturing and verification, including build fixturing, lifting tools, inspection tools, and integration aids.
• Hands on support of dev or production builds, kitting, integration, and shipment readiness.
• Write, execute, and support Acceptance Test Procedures (ATP) and Qualification Test Procedures (QTP) for flight hardware (medical devices, space food, water, exercise equipment, ect).
• Design test fixtures, and participate in testing activities (off-gassing, flammability, mechanical loads, EMI/EMC, environmental exposure).
• Define and document inspection requirements, acceptance criteria, and inspection procedures in partnership with quality.
• Collaborate with test, quality, and design teams to resolve nonconformances and implement root cause corrective actions.
• Support the procurement, receipt, and intake of COTS components, including definition and enforcement of part numbering conventions and packaging requirements.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering, or related field.
• 1+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, production engineering, quality engineering, or design engineering (internships, co-ops, and student project teams qualify).
• Hands-on experience working with hardware in a production, lab, or build environment.
• Ability to communicate effectively across multidisciplinary teams and work directly with technicians and engineers.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Experience with aerospace structures manufacturing, integration, or large mechanical assemblies.
• Proficiency in CAD software such as NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, or equivalent, for reviewing designs and creating manufacturing documentation.
• Hands-on experience supporting environmental testing (structural, random vibration, thermal,  EMI/EMC).
• Tooling design experience for fixtures, test setups, lifting/handling equipment, and work access systems.
• Experience writing work instructions and procedures for critical or flight-like hardware.
• Comfort working in ambiguity; ability to move fast, balance multiple projects, take ownership, and deliver under tight schedule constraints.

Additional Requirements:

• Ability to travel up to 50% of the time
• Willingness to work evenings and/or weekends to support critical mission milestones
• Ability to lift up to 25lbs unassisted
• Specific certifications, as appropriate

Pay Range: 

• Mechanical Engineer I: $84,200 - $108,780
• Mechanical Engineer II: $110,00 - $142,100