Senior Welding 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 worlds first commercial space station when it launches into low earth orbit in May 2026. Our team is all-in committed to executing our mission safely and on you want to work with the most talented people on Earth furthering space exploration for humanity come join us.

Vast is seeking a Senior Welding Engineer to join our Long Beach team reporting to the Manager of Additive and Metal this full-time exempt role you will play a critical role in developing the welding systems and processes required to design and build the worlds first artificial-gravity human-rated space stations.

Responsibilities

• Own multiple metal joining processes from development through production handoff including welding and brazing
• Work hands-on in materials selection process/parameter development qualification and controlled documentation to deliver reliable manufacturing processes
• Define qualification criteria and lead test campaigns for metallic materials including material characterization interpreting test and NDE results and selecting appropriate heat treatments
• Partner with design tooling and manufacturing engineers to support process development and production needs
• Perform root cause analysis and implement corrective actions to resolve process issues

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in a related engineering discipline
• 5 years of hands-on experience developing scaling and supporting metal joining processes in a manufacturing environment

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Masters degree in Welding Engineering or a related technical discipline
• Experience with both brazing and fusion welding processes
• Fundamental knowledge of welding methods including orbital tube electron beam friction-stir plasma arc and gas tungsten arc
• Familiarity with standards and specifications for aerospace and human-flight metal joining processes
• Strong materials knowledge for aerospace applications including review development and qualification
• Understanding of primary production processes (e.g. wrought product forms extrusions forgings)
• Understanding of secondary production processes (e.g. heat treatment plating)
• Knowledge of standard Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI) techniques used in aerospace
• Experience planning and executing material allowables development
• Experience with failure analysis and fractography including characterization techniques
• Enthusiastic proactive mindset and readiness to dive into technically challenging work

Additional Requirements

• Ability to travel up to 10%
• Willingness to work overtime and weekends to support critical mission milestones
• Ability to lift up to 25 lbs unassisted

Pay Range:

• Senior Welding Engineer $116600 - $167800

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY