Senior Power Systems Engineer

At Vast, our mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space. We are building artificial gravity space stations, allowing long-term stays in space without the adverse effects of zero-gravity. Our initial crewed space habitat will be Haven-1, scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station when it launches into low earth orbit in August 2025. 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 looking for a Senior Power Systems Engineer, reporting to the Senior VP of Engineering Projects, 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: 

• End-to-end ownership of space station power system architectural trades, power and interface budgeting and tracking, functional and technical interface definitions (hardware and software), hierarchical requirements specification, and verification and validation planning and execution
• Perform failure modes, effects, and criticality analyses at the system-level to motivate reliability design and validation plans
• Lead cross-functional engineering teams to capture system-level operating modes and concepts, requirements, constraints, and behaviors and drive their implementation on the power system
• Manage power system deliverables and execute spacecraft-level integration and test

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering, or other engineering discipline
• 5+ years of experience in spacecraft electrical systems 

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Ability to creatively solve problems and bring multiple disciplines together while assessing risk and making design and development decisions with incomplete data set
• Experience working in collegiate project teams (e.g. Formula SAE, Hybrid Electric Vehicle) and/or professional experience Professional experience with instrumentation and data acquisition (e.g. SPICE, SQL, and/or National Instruments hardware)
• Experience with software programming: Matlab, Python, C/C++, etc.
• Experience with vehicle and instrumentation buses such as Ethernet, CAN, SPI, and I2C, as well as serial I/O (RS232/422/485)
• Experience with full-lifecycle product development
• Experience with designing electronics for spaceflight environment, verifying workmanship and operability through environmental test (random vibration, shock, thermal, burn-in, and TVAC)
• Strong sense of accountability and integrity with excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to thrive at an early-stage startup where you will have the opportunity to help create and optimize key systems and processes

Salary Range: California$135,000—$180,000 USDCOMPENSATION 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: 100% medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, flexible paid time off for exempt staff and up to 15 days of vacation for non-exempt staff, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, free catered meals and snacks and beverages, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, One Medical membership, ClassPass credits, personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health, and other discounts and perks.

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