Manufacturing Engineer - Factory Systems & Rate Production

Confirmed live in the last 24 hours

Vast

Compensation

$112,000 - $230,000/year

Long Beach, California, United States

On-site

Posted April 15, 2026

Job Description

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 Manufacturing Engineer – Factory Systems & Rate Production, reporting to the Director of Operational Excellence, to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations. Use this space to describe the role and sell the candidate on the cool stuff they would get to work on.

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

Responsibilities:

Own Haven-2 factory layout and production system architecture, including maintain authoritative, up-to-date floor plans and work center configurations, and lead future-state factory design to meet rate production requirements as the program scales
Lead DFM/DFA reviews and manufacturing readiness activities from development through production, partnering directly with design engineering to optimize producibility, assembly efficiency, and transition readiness and representing Manufacturing Engineering in design reviews (PDR, CDR), manufacturing readiness reviews (MRR), and production readiness reviews (PRR)
Define, implement, and own key performance metrics across all Haven-2 work centers including throughput, cycle time, first-pass yield, and capacity utilization and design the data infrastructure and reporting systems required to monitor, analyze, and act on production performance
Lead structured continuous improvement programs using Lean, Six Sigma, and value stream design methodologies, conducting time and motion studies (MOST, Yamazumi), identifying bottlenecks, and implementing standardized, scalable solutions that measurably improve throughput and reduce cycle time
Develop and maintain the full suite of manufacturing documentation, including process plans, routings, standard work, and work instructions ensuring consistency, repeatability, and compliance with AS9100 and applicable aerospace workmanship standards
Specify, qualify, and deploy tooling, fixtures, and production equipment, including coordinating custom tooling design to enable efficient, repeatable assembly of complex space hardware
Drive process standardization across products, assemblies, and work centers, reducing variability and building the operational foundation necessary for sustainable rate scaling
Lead process qualification and manufacturing readiness activities, including first article inspections (FAI), process validation, and AS9100 certification efforts acting as the primary manufacturing engineering project management resource for these initiatives
Facilitate regular production performance reviews with manufacturing, quality, and supply chain leadership presenting data-driven analysis of throughput, efficiency, and rate performance, and leading corrective action on identified gaps
Act as a hands-on systems-level problem solver on the manufacturing floor, bringing structured analytical rigor and practical engineering judgment to complex operational challenges
Proven expertise in Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies, with demonstrated results in throughput improvement, cycle time red