Head of Propulsion Engineering

Long Beach, CA, United States

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 August 2025. 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.

We are looking for a dynamic Head of Propulsion to lead our propulsion team and play a critical role in achieving this groundbreaking goal. As the Head of Propulsion, you will report to the Chief Technical Officer and lead a team dedicated to developing, testing, and integrating propulsion systems for our space stations. Your work will be vital for maintaining our space stations' attitude, orbit control, and docking operations. At Vast, propulsions systems are critical for maintaining our on-orbit attitude, orbit raising, spin/de-spin, de-saturation and docking operations of our space stations. The team designs and tests bi-prop thruster systems, feed systems and works with our partners on propulsion components, systems and solutions for our space stations. Team activities include modeling of the propulsion system, design of test systems and implementation of V&V plans that leverage test systems at our dedicated Mojave test site.

This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.

Key Responsibilities:

Team Leadership: Recruit, lead, and mentor a diverse team of engineers and technicians in designing and building propulsion systems, fluid modeling, and testing programs.

Design & Development: Oversee the design of in-space ethane/nitrous oxide pressure-fed gas thrusters and guide system optimization and trade studies.

System Modeling: Develop integrated physics models for 2-phase fluid, thermal, pressure, and mass flow to define operating parameters.

Mission Planning: Collaborate with GNC to model thruster use and commodity consumption across mission phases using Monte Carlo simulations.

Thermal Design: Work with the thermal team on the on-orbit thermal environments of propulsion components, including tanks, accumulators, and thrusters.

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Avionics and Software teams to develop control, telemetry, and propulsion utilization algorithms.

Project Management: Track and maintain the schedule for propulsion deliverables and manage multiple development and test programs.

Manufacturing Coordination: Work with manufacturing and additive teams to produce propulsion components and manage vendor relationships.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical, Aerospace, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.

10+ years of experience in designing complex fluid systems for propulsion.

Proven leadership experience in managing propulsion design teams and cross-functional engineering projects.

Direct experience as a people manager.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

Master’s degree in Aeronautical, Aerospace, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.

Expertise in designing and modeling 2-phase propellant systems.

Experience leading multiple development and test programs with varied timelines.

Manufacturing experience with 3D-printed metal propulsion parts.

Project management skills across a portfolio of projects.

Vendor management experience for outsourced components and systems.

Strong team-building and recruiting capabilities.

Additional Requirements:

Ability to travel up to 20%.

Willingness to work overtime or weekends to support critical mission milestones.

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, flexible paid time off for exempt staff and up to 15 days of vacation for non-exempt staff, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, free catered meals and snacks and beverages, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, One Medical membership, ClassPass credits, personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health, and other discounts and perks. 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.

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