Senior Mechanical Engineer, Thermal Control Systems

Vast is looking for a Thermal Control Systems Senior Mechanical Engineer, reporting to the Manager, Thermal Control Hardware 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, CA location. 

Responsibilities: 

• Own the design and development of thermal control system and components for our artificial-gravity space station, from initial design trades to fully functional and validated system
• Possible thermal components include heat exchangers, cold plates, heaters, heat pipes, etc…
• Iterate on manufacturing processes and development testing in a fast-paced environment
• Own the project delivery timeline from early design through production, launch, and orbit insertion
• Perform systems engineering tasks and fluid analyses
• Lead design reviews internally and externally with suppliers and customers
• Work with interdisciplinary stakeholders to ensure the component will integrate with the necessary avionics, software, and mission operations systems
• Make sure that all designs are manufacturable and reliable
• Bring technical excellence to everything you do

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or other engineering discipline
• Experience working with fluid systems or components
• 5+ years of hands-on hardware experience performing fabrication, assembly and/or testing

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• 4+ years of experience working with fluid systems or components
• Demonstrated ability to own hardware or systems within an integrated engineering team outside a classroom setting
• 4+ years of hands-on hardware experience performing fabrication, assembly and/or testing
• Proactive problem-solving skills such as failure analysis, root cause investigation, and design of experiment creation
• Ability to perform trade studies using first principles and engineering fundamentals to make clear recommendations even with partial information
• Experience with rotating machinery
• Experienced in NX
• Solid understanding and application of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) and tolerance stack-up analysis
• Experience with structural analysis methods (hand calcs, FEMAP, ANSYS) in order to optimize hardware to strength requirements as well as to evaluate for life and fracture
• Knowledge of metallic and fluid system manufacturing techniques, processes, equipment, and other processes such as machining, welding, brazing, tube bending, etc.
• Able to work well in an integrated collaborative team environment, including frequent interactions with technicians, other engineers, and managers
• Highly self-motivated with strong organizational and written/oral communication skills – able to prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment with the ongoing drive for continuous improvement in all aspects of work