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 world’s 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 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 Senior Dynamics Engineer, reporting to the Senior Manager of Loads and Dynamics, to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations.
This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.
The structural dynamics group is responsible for low and high-frequency load & environment predictions for all Vast space stations during ground transportation, ascent, and on-orbit operations. This role will be responsible for generating frequency-based design and test requirements in quasi-statics, random vibrations, shock, and acoustics. Candidates should have strong skills in frequency domain analysis, test planning, and high-speed data processing.
Responsibilities:
- Derive internal load and environment requirements from system level requirements
- Assist product groups with vibration and shock requirement tailoring and test verification
- Assess vendor hardware capabilities against in-house predictions
- Develop post-processing tools for dynamic analyses and tests
- Build, maintain, and correlate prediction models based on gathered test data
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor degree in Mechanical or Aerospace engineering
- 2+ years of professional experience in loads and environment prediction
Preferred Skills & Experience:
- Spacecraft and/or payload background with experience through the entire system lifecycle from concept, design, production, integration, test, launch, and operations
- Hands-on test experience in vibration labs
- Familiar with Femap/NASTRAN
- Ability to explain structural dynamic concepts to other engineering functions
- Working understanding of a design load cycle and how it relates to analysis and test
- Knowledge of spacecraft launch load environments and industry standard documents (SMC-S-016, GSFC-STD-7000A, MIL-STD-810G, etc.)
Additional Requirements:
- Ability to travel occasionally for out-of-house testing
Pay Range:
- Dynamics Engineer II: $110,000 - $142,100
- Senior Dynamics Engineer: $135,800 - $176,400
U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS
The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore, must either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.62 or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. This status includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending.EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
Top Skills
Vast Long Beach, California, USA Office
2851 Orange Ave, Long Beach, CA, United States, 90755
Similar Jobs
What you need to know about the Los Angeles Tech Scene
Key Facts About Los Angeles Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 375,800; 5.5% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: Snap, Netflix, SpaceX, Disney, Google
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, adtech, media, software, game development
- Funding Landscape: $11.6 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Strong Ventures, Fifth Wall, Upfront Ventures, Mucker Capital, Kittyhawk Ventures
- Research Centers and Universities: California Institute of Technology, UCLA, University of Southern California, UC Irvine, Pepperdine, California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy, Center for Quantum Science and Engineering
