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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Design Reliability Engineer - **Company:** Vast, Inc - **Location:** Long Beach, CA, United States - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** $137,000.0 - $195,000.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Microsoft Excel, Adobe InDesign, Data Analysis, Systems Engineering, Data Visualization, Python (Programming Language), Knowledge Management, MATLAB, Reliability Engineering, Systems Integration, Tableau (Software), Scripting, Safety Critical Systems, Hardware Testing, Build Tools - **Published:** July 8, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=57bdddd979a99592 ## About the Role * Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related field. * 7+ years of experience in responsible engineering, design ownership, systems integration, test engineering, or reliability-focused development. * Demonstrated experience conducting design reviews, qualification reviews, or major change assessments. * Strong communicator and collaborative leader with high emotional intelligence, diplomacy, and the ability to influence at all levels. * Resilient, curious, and committed to continuous learning in fast-paced or high-pressure environments. Preferred Skills & Experience: * Experience in Responsible Engineering, Systems Engineering, Office of the Chief Engineer, or Reliability Engineering roles on complex aerospace systems. * Hands-on experience designing, assembling, integrating, or testing hardware. * Background with spacecraft, aircraft, launch vehicles, or other mission- or safety-critical systems. * Familiarity with fracture control, reliability methodologies, or human-rated hardware standards. * Experience creating engineering standards, review templates, or technical guidance frameworks. * Strong scripting and data analysis skills (Python, MATLAB, Excel) and familiarity with visualization tools (e.g., Tableau). * Knowledge of manufacturing processes, materials selection, and hardware qualification pathways. * Strong systems-level intuition and the ability to anticipate and articulate risks early. Additional Requirements: * Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones. ## Description * Technical Leadership: Lead the technical reviews that shape the future of artificial-gravity space habitats-providing clear, decisive guidance during milestone design reviews and major risk gates. * Oversee qualification and test completeness for flight systems, ensuring our test campaigns are robust, disciplined, and aligned with human-rated reliability. * Bring deep engineering intuition to test campaigns, identifying risks early and helping teams converge on safe, resilient solutions. * Evaluate complex design and operational changes, safeguarding technical integrity as the system evolves. * Design Excellence: Serve as the architect and guardian of Vast's engineering standards, design guides, and review frameworks-tools that enable fast, confident decision-making across the company. * Make engineering best practices accessible and actionable, especially for engineers moving rapidly under ambitious program timelines. * Support and elevate engineering teams across the organization by bringing broad experience in design, build cycles, integration, and test. * Turn organizational knowledge into lasting guidance by capturing lessons learned and strengthening future standards. * Process Ownership: Build and steward the processes that ensure engineering rigor at scale-ensuring designs meet standards, reviews are comprehensive, and changes are consistently implemented. * Own and continuously refine design review templates, reliability checklists, and internal design guides. * Track design maturity and compliance across the station and vehicle architecture, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks. * Build tools, frameworks, and automation that empower engineers to explore design trade-offs and risks with clarity and speed. * Cross-Functional Influence: Work across all facets of the engineering organization to improve reliability. * Partner with configuration and change management so that every update to flight hardware is intentional, reviewed, and fully understood. * Partner with the internal software team to ensure system data, configuration details, and design decisions are well organized and accessible. ## Related Videos - [From Space to Software: Reliability Lessons 40 Years After Challenger](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100283-from-space-to-software-reliability-lessons-40-years-after-challenger) - [Modern Data Architectures need Software Engineering](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1030-modern-data-architectures-need-software-engineering) - [JavaScript? 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