Propulsion Design Reliability Engineer Long , California,

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 looking for a Propulsion Design Reliability Engineer
, reporting to the Sr. Manager of Design Reliability
, to guide the design, verification, and validation of Haven‑1, the world’s first commercial human‑rated space station.

As a Propulsion Design Reliability Engineer, you will ensure the propulsion system on Haven‑1 is designed and functions reliably for its intended lifespan. You will drive Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), guide test plan definition, review verification & validation data, and facilitate design teams to prevent failures before manufacturing. You will work closely with hardware teams to ensure build practices meet design intent, define test methodologies, and analyze field data to improve design robustness.

You will shepherd the Haven‑1 propulsion system through detailed design and transition the space station from design, to a built and tested station ready to host humans in space.

This is a full‑time
, exempt position located in Long Beach
.

• Guide design of the propulsion systems for a large‑scale space station.
• Cultivate Vast's understanding of static and dynamic loads, vibrations, thermal, combustion and other propulsion considerations to drive design decisions.
• Lead technical reviews providing clear, decisive guidance of mechanical design and analysis, manufacturing drawings, test plans, concept of operations during milestone design reviews and major risk gates.
• Provide critical peer review and approval of hardware designs during design reviews and of acceptance and qualification test campaigns.
• Ensure that the Vast's design process & design criteria/requirements are being followed for flight, launch and ground support systems.
• Set the standard for acceptance and qualification test completeness for flight systems, ensuring our test campaigns are robust, disciplined, and aligned with human‑rated reliability.
• Bring deep engineering intuition to test campaigns, identifying risks early and helping teams converge on safe, resilient solutions.
• Architect Vast’s propulsion engineering standards, design guides, and review frameworks; build tools that enable fast, confident decision‑making at all levels across the company.
• Develop design criteria, requirements, and verification approaches to support Haven‑1 design architecture.
• Make engineering best practices accessible and actionable, especially for engineers moving rapidly under ambitious program timelines.
• Support and elevate engineering teams across the organization by bringing broad experience in design, build cycles, integration and test.
• Turn organizational knowledge into lasting guidance by capturing lessons learned and strengthening future standards.

• Build and steward the processes that ensure engineering rigor at scale—ensuring designs meet standards, reviews are comprehensive, and changes are consistently implemented.
• Own and continuously refine design review templates, reliability checklists, and internal design guides.
• Track design maturity and compliance across the station and vehicle architecture, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.
• Build tools, frameworks, and automation that empower engineers to…