Senior Tooling Engineer

Tooling Group's Mission
The Tooling Group is at the core of transforming ambitious spacecraft designs into flight-ready reality.  We engineer the fixtures, handling equipment, lift systems, and integration tooling that make complex assemblies safe, precise, and buildable at scale.  Without these tools, large structures cannot be lifted, delicate assemblies cannot be aligned, and mission-critical components cannot be brought together with the precision required for spaceflight.  By engineering the systems that allow manufacturing, assembly, and testing to run smoothly, the Tooling Group ensures that every milestone on the path to launching Haven-1—the world’s first commercial space station is achievable.  

Senior Tooling Engineer Opportunity
As the Senior Tooling Engineer, reporting to the Senior Manager of Integration Manufacturing, you will play a direct and highly visible role in advancing the Tooling Group’s objectives and, by extension, Vast’s mission to build humanity’s replacement for the International Space Station. 

This is an end-to-end ownership position: from defining requirements with project managers and engineers, to modeling and analyzing fixture designs, to sourcing suppliers, managing RFQs, and seeing your tools through fabrication, qualification, and hands-on use on the integration floor. 

Your expertise ensures that the tools are not only functional, but robust enough to handle the dynamic loads of large spacecraft hardware while meeting tight timelines and quality standards.  By bringing together technical creativity, project leadership, and hands-on problem-solving, your work will directly enable Haven-1 to transition from design to on orbit—supporting a mission of extraordinary importance: keeping humanity’s permanent presence in low Earth orbit alive. This will be a full-time, exempt position located at Vast's HQ in Long Beach, CA. 

In this role, you will 

• Own the design, activation, implementation, and fabrication support of fixtures and tooling required for Haven-1 assembly, lifting, and handling
• Partner with Integration and Manufacturing teams to define vehicle integration flow, manufacturing processes, concepts, and tooling interfaces
• Collaborate with vehicle engineering and production to define fixture and tooling specifications, develop qualification plans, and transition tools into production
• Perform mechanical analysis for spacecraft fixtures such as loads & dynamics, FEM.
• Develop operation and maintenance plans for all test fixtures and tooling; assist Facilities Managers with project implementation
• Own schedules on assigned projects, including critical deadlines, and deliverables
• Establish and manage vendor relationships; coordinate meetings to identify and apply new technologies to Vast’s applications
• Develop, test, and implement tooling improvements to drive time savings and/or tighter tolerances
• Coordinate tooling modifications resulting from part, production, or design changes
• Partner with engineering stakeholders and technicians to resolve production-related issues

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline
• Proficiency with GD&T (Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing)
• 5+ years of experience in aerospace or automotive tooling
• 5+ years of experience using NX or other 3D CAD software
• Hands-on experience handling, lifting, or building large, complex assemblies
• Knowledge of project planning and execution practices, including logic-linked schedule management

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Experience creating and working from work orders and assembly instructions
• Background in designing pneumatic, electrical, or hydraulic motion systems
• Experience with critical lifting fixtures and break-over tooling
• Expertise in integration tooling design
• Passion for hardware development and comfort working in a fast-paced, hands-on environment
• Strong communication and collaboration skills

Additional Requirements

• Willingness to work evenings and/or weekends to support critical mission milestones
• Ability to lift up to 25 lbs unassisted

Pay Range
Senior Tooling Engineer: $135,000 – $170,000