Manager, Structures Manufacturing Engineering

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 Demo's 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 world's 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 Manager, Structures Manufacturing Engineering, reporting to the Senior Director of Manufacturing, 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.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing team of manufacturing engineers and technicians; establish skills matrices, drive competency development, and build succession plans for critical roles.
• Develop, stabilize, and continuously improve manufacturing processes for metallic aerospace structures (welding, trimming, rolling, bending, shearing, and related operations).
• Design, implement, and qualify welding cells, fabrication tooling, fixtures, jigs, and production workstations for primary structure manufacturing.
• Own manufacturing planning, including creation and updates of work instructions, routings, inspection steps, and ERP/MRP configuration.
• Drive root-cause analysis and corrective actions for manufacturing non-conformances in partnership with Quality and Design Engineering.
• Collaborate with Design Engineering to assess and improve designs for manufacturability and to support smooth transitions from development to production.
• Identify, evaluate, and introduce new manufacturing technologies and automation solutions to increase throughput, quality, and efficiency.
• Lead the build and inspection processes for structural assembly, ensuring compliance with all safety, quality, and delivery requirements.
• Develop and optimize production floor layouts, capacity models, and product flow to support schedule commitments and vehicle delivery timelines.
• Scope, justify, and implement capital equipment, facility, and tooling upgrades required to support long-term manufacturing scalability.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or comparable STEM field.
• Experience working in fast-paced development environments with evolving designs and requirements.
• Extensive experience developing or improving manufacturing processes, tools, or products, particularly for metallic structures or assemblies.
• Proven experience managing a product or product line across multiple workcenters and/or departments.
• Experience leading manufacturing through development-to-production transitions for new products or programs.
• Demonstrated ability to resolve non-conformances and drive effective root-cause and corrective actions.
• 3+ Years in a manufacturing environment.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Prior leadership experience managing engineers in a high-performance environment.
• Strong understanding of welding and fabrication processes, with the ability to provide clear design feedback.
• Experience with aerospace tooling or flight design and fabrication from concept through production.
• Proficiency with CAD systems (NX, Teamcenter).
• Strong understanding of GD&T and ability to interpret complex engineering drawings.
• Experience working with and defining requirements for ERP, MRP, and MES systems.
• Hands-on experience with aerospace welding processes (TIG, Plasma, repair techniques).
• Familiarity with aerospace standards, production documentation, Non-destructive evaluation techniques and quality systems.
• 6+ years in aerospace manufacturing environments.

Additional Requirements

• Willingness to work evenings or weekends to support critical program milestones.
• Ability to be on the production floor regularly to support processes, troubleshooting, and team development

Pay Range:

• Manager, Structures Manufacturing Engineering: $ $135,000 - $180,000
• Senior Manager, Structures Manufacturing Engineering: $159,000 - $209,000

Pay Range: California

$135,000-$209,000 USD

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Base salary will vary depending on job-related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand. Salary is just one component of our comprehensive compensation package. Full-time employees also receive company equity, as well as access to a full suite of compelling benefits and perks, including: 100% medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, generous paid time off; up to 20+ days of vacation for exempt staff and up to 10+ days of vacation for non-exempt staff with the ability to cash-out unused vacation annually, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, ClassPass credits, personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health, and other discounts and perks. We also take pride in offering exceptional food perks, with snacks, drip coffee & onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge, and lunch subsidized as part of Vast's ongoing commitment to providing high-quality meals for employees.

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

Vast is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Vast is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.