Staff Electric Propulsion Systems Engineer

<div class="content-intro"><p>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.</p></div><p>Vast is looking for a<strong> Electric Propulsion Systems Engineer</strong><strong> </strong>, reporting to the<strong> Senior Director of Propulsion,</strong>, to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of human-rated space stations.</p> <p>This will be a&nbsp;<strong>full-time, exempt </strong>position located in our<strong> Long Beach</strong> location.</p> <h3><strong>Responsibilities:&nbsp;</strong></h3> <p><strong>Electric Propulsion System Development</strong></p> <ul> <li>Serve as Responsible Engineer for Vast's electric propulsion test facilities, owning technical decisions across the buildup and operation</li> <li>Define and maintain system requirements, procedures, and test plans for thruster testing</li> <li>Establish analysis and test methodology upfront, with clear objectives and success criteria, to support rigorous hardware development and qualification</li> <li>Plan and execute development and qualification test campaigns, including hotfire testing, in partnership with internal teams and external facilities</li> <li>Maintain awareness of and plan for potential future electric propulsion modalities relevant to Vast missions, including Arcjets, Resistojets, and Magnetoplasmadynamic Thrusters (applied-field and self-field)</li> <li>Contribute to forward-looking development of electric propulsion systems using molecular propellants including ASCENT, hydrazine, methane, or other molecular propellants, to enable multimode propulsion architectures that share a common propellant with onboard chemical propulsion systems</li> <li>Set and maintain standards for design practice, analysis methodology, documentation, and test