Propulsion Development Engineer I

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 Demos 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 worlds 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 Development Engineer I reporting to the Director of Propulsion Developmentto support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations. The Propulsion Development team is responsible for the hands-on design analysis build and test of propulsion components and integrated systems that enable vehicle maneuvering and on-orbit operations. Working across both chemical and electric architectures we support hardware from clean-sheet concepts through development qualification acceptance testing and production of flight units including participation in hot-fire campaigns throughout the lifecycle.

This will be a full-timeexempt position located in our Long Beachlocation.

Responsibilities:

• Own the design analysis build and test of propulsion components and subsystems spanning thrusters valves feed system hardware and integrated fluid systems.
• Drive hardware from concept through qualification acceptance testing and flight production maintaining end-to-end responsibility for technical execution performance and documentation.
• Execute hands-on development and hot-fire test campaigns including significant participation at our Mojave test site in test setup operations troubleshooting and post-test data review.
• Support electric propulsion development efforts including integration and performance characterization at both Vast facilities and external partner sites such as NASA test centers.
• Apply first-principles engineering fundamentals to support design decisions document analyses and clearly communicate results within a cross-functional team.
• Partner closely with manufacturing technicians avionics and vehicle engineering to ensure hardware is practical testable and production-ready.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree in aerospace engineering mechanical engineering or a related field completed or expected by June 2026.
• Hands-on engineering experience in mechanical fluids or propulsion systems
• Ability to travel to our Mojave test site frequently during the first year to support development and test operations.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Demonstrated experience designing building and testing real hardware whether through industry roles research projects competitive student teams startups or independent technical projects. Show us what youve built!
• Experience with propulsion or high-performance fluid systems (chemical and/or electric) including exposure to hot-fire or high-power test environments.
• Strong fundamentals in fluid mechanics thermodynamics mechanics of materials and basic electrical systems.
• Hands-on familiarity with machine shops fabrication processes pressure systems instrumentation and data acquisition.
• Proficiency with CAD tools such as NX Creo or CATIA including working knowledge of GD&T and production-ready drawing practices.
• Experience performing structural or thermal analysis using FEA tools (ANSYS FEMAP or similar) with understanding of stress fatigue and failure modes.
• Background in spacecraft launch vehicle or other high-reliability aerospace systems.
• Advanced degree in a relevant engineering or physics discipline particularly where the work involved meaningful hardware development or experimental research.

Pay Range:

• Propulsion Development Engineer I: $85000 - $108000

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY