Senior Structural & Mechanical Engineer

At Vast, our mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space. Vast is developing next-generation space stations to ensure a continuous human presence in space for America and its allies, enabling advanced microgravity research and manufacturing, and unlocking a new space economy for government, corporate, and private customers. Using an incremental, hardware-rich and low-cost approach, Vast is rapidly developing its multi-module Haven Station. Haven Demo’s 2025 success made Vast the only operational commercial space station company to fly and operate its own spacecraft. Next, Haven-1 is expected to become the world’s first commercial space station when it launches, followed by additional Haven modules to enable permanent human presence by 2030. Our team is all-in, committed to executing our mission safely and on time. If you want to work with the most talented people on Earth furthering space exploration for humanity, come join us.

Vast is seeking a Senior Structural & Mechanical Engineer to own payload mechanical integration and launch vehicle interfaces for a new constellation-ready spacecraft bus — a product line designed to scale to hundreds of spacecraft per year.

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

About the role:

This is a new spacecraft bus designed from the start for multi-satellite launches and production scaling. The structural challenges are real — a multi-satellite dispenser architecture, a separation system, a primary structure that needs to work across multiple payload configurations, and payload mechanical integration for every customer variant. The dispenser is a key architecture trade: we may design our own or the launch vehicle provider may supply one. Either path has major implications for the launch campaign. You'll drive that decision and own the outcome.

You'll work alongside a principal mechanical engineer and collaborate across disciplines — including contributing mass properties and structural margins to the program's spacecraft design and simulation toolchain.

Responsibilities: 

• Work with the principal mechanical engineer to divide responsibilities across structure, mechanisms, and integration as the program scales
• Design the primary structure for the satellite bus — sized for the launch vehicle fairing envelope
• Resolve the dispenser trade — build our own vs launch vehicle provider supplies. Either path has major implications for the launch campaign: designing and qualifying our own dispenser, or owning the integration requirements and ensuring LV-supplied hardware meets our needs.
• Own payload mechanical integration — mounting interfaces, structural accommodation, and mechanical ICDs for every customer payload variant
• Own the separation system — define the approach, design or select the mechanism, and qualify it
• Own mass properties — mass budget, center of gravity, moments of inertia across all satellite and payload configurations
• Perform structural analysis — FEA, static loads, random vibration, shock response spectrum per launch vehicle environmental requirements
• Plan mechanical integration — how do 10 satellites stack on the dispenser?
• Ensure launch vehicle Payload User Guide (PUG) compliance for all structural interfaces
• Coordinate with the solar array team on mechanical integration (boom attachment, deployment clearances)
• Contribute mass properties and structural margins to the spacecraft design and simulation toolchain
• Design for manufacturing — the structure must be producible at rate as the program scales to hundreds of spacecraft per year

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline
• 5+ years of spacecraft structural design and analysis experience — primary structure, load paths, FEA
• Payload mechanical integration experience — mounting interfaces, ICDs, structural accommodation for multiple payload types
• Experience with launch vehicle mechanical interfaces — payload adapters, separation systems, dispensers
• Mass properties management for flight programs
• Familiar with launch vehicle environmental requirements (random vibe, shock, static load, acoustic)
• FEA tool proficiency (NASTRAN, Abaqus, ANSYS, or equivalent)
• CAD proficiency — you'll be doing detailed design, not just analysis
• Comfortable making architecture-level structural decisions early in the program with incomplete data

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Able to obtain a security clearance
• Medium-lift launch vehicle payload integration experience
• Multi-satellite dispenser design or integration experience
• Experience with deployable structures (solar arrays, antennas)
• Composite structure design and manufacturing experience
• Experience scaling a structural design across multiple flight units
• Design-for-manufacturing experience — optimizing structures for producibility at rate

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Base salary will vary depending on job-related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand. Salary is just one component of our comprehensive compensation package. Full-time employees also receive company equity, as well as access to a full suite of compelling benefits and perks, including: medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, generous paid time off; up to 20+ days of vacation for exempt staff and up to 10+ days of vacation for non-exempt staff with the ability to cash-out unused vacation annually, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, ClassPass credits, personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health, and other discounts and perks. We also take pride in offering exceptional food perks, with snacks, drip coffee & onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge, and lunch subsidized as part of Vast’s ongoing commitment to providing high-quality meals for employees.

U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS

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 status includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Vast is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Vast is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.