Manager, Loads & Dynamics

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 an experienced and motivated Manager, Loads & Dynamics, reporting to the Senior Director of Structures & Dynamics, to support the development, analysis, and verification of dynamic systems for next-generation human-rated space stations and spacecraft.

The ideal candidate will bring solid technical expertise in spacecraft or launch vehicle dynamics, emerging leadership capabilities, and experience contributing to hardware development in fast-paced aerospace environments.

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

• Manage and develop a team of Dynamics engineers responsible for loads and environment predictions for spacecraft systems and hardware during transportation, ascent, docking, and on-orbit operations.
• Support execution across multiple phases of the product lifecycle, including concept development, requirements definition, analysis, testing, and verification activities.
• Develop and maintain dynamic models, load cases, and environments to support spacecraft design and integration efforts.
• Derive internal loads and environmental requirements from system-level requirements, including quasi-static, random vibration, shock, and acoustic environments.
• Support product teams with vibration and shock requirement tailoring, test planning, and qualification verification activities.
• Build, maintain, and correlate finite element and dynamic prediction models using test data and flight-representative environments.
• Develop post-processing tools and methodologies for dynamic analyses and test data reduction.
• Assess vendor and supplier hardware capabilities against internally generated dynamic predictions and qualification requirements.
• Coordinate with Structures, Propulsion, Thermal, Avionics, GNC, Manufacturing, Test, and Systems Engineering teams to ensure integrated vehicle performance.
• Participate in technical reviews, design trades, and failure investigations related to dynamic environments and structural performance.
• Support spacecraft qualification activities, including vibration, modal, acoustic, and shock testing campaigns.
• Manage day-to-day team priorities, task assignments, and resource allocation aligned with program milestones.
• Provide technical guidance and risk identification support to ensure system performance, reliability, and compliance with verification requirements.
• Mentor and develop junior and mid-level engineers, fostering a culture of accountability, technical rigor, and collaboration.
• Contribute to process improvements that enhance modeling accuracy, analysis efficiency, and product quality.
• Coordinate with external suppliers and test facilities to support development and qualification activities.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 6+ years of engineering experience in aerospace or other safety-critical industries.
• 1+ years of technical leadership, project leadership, or engineering management experience.
• Experience performing loads and environments prediction, structural dynamics, vibration, acoustic, shock, or coupled systems analyses for aerospace hardware or…