Manufacturing Engineer Factory Systems & Rate Production

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 ManufacturingEngineer Factory Systems &RateProduction reporting to the Director of Operational Excellenceto 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 ourLong Beachlocation.

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 reduction and process standardization
• Experience conducting time and motion analysis (MOST Yamazumi or equivalent) to establish standard work and quantify improvement opportunities
• Hands-on experience developing and maintaining manufacturing documentation (process plans routings work instructions) in compliance with AS9100 or equivalent quality management systems
• Strong data and analytics skills demonstrated ability to design manufacturing performance metrics build dashboards and drive decisions from production data using tools such as Tableau Power BI or SQL
• Strong cross-functional communication skills with experience presenting manufacturing performance risks and strategies to engineering and operations leadership
• Proven project management capability across concurrent manufacturing initiatives with multiple stakeholders

Preferred Qualifications:

• Lean or Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or Black Belt) with quantified project results
• Direct experience with AS9100 certification audits or quality management system implementation in an aerospace or defense manufacturing environment
• Experience leading manufacturing readiness reviews (MRR) production readiness reviews (PRR) or first article inspections (FAI) for flight or high-reliability hardware programs
• Familiarity with Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) or ERP/MRP platforms (e.g. SAP Oracle Aligni) and experience leveraging them to improve production traceability and efficiency
• Proficiency with CAD or facility planning tools (AutoCAD SolidWorks or equivalent) for factory layout and work center design
• Experience scaling production from low-rate initial production (LRIP) to high-rate production for complex aerospace or space hardware
• Familiarity with PFMEA process validation and quality planning methodologies applied to aerospace hardware manufacturing
• Advanced skills in manufacturing data visualization and analytics including experience building integrated reporting systems from multiple production data sources

Pay Range:

• Manufacturing Engineer II: $112000 - $159000
• Senior Manufacturing Engineer: $137700 - $195000
• Staff Manufacturing Engineer: $16200 - $230000

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY