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# Senior Mechanical Engineer, Life Support Systems

- **Company:** Vast, Inc
- **Location:** Long Beach, CA, United States
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Salary:** $112,300.0 - $159,460.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Systems Engineering, Femap, System Testing, Operational Systems, Ansys
- **Published:** November 3, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.careerbuilder.com/job-details/senior-mechanical-engineer-life-support-systems-long-beach-ca--f9eb3098-032f-4ac8-a7e1-b80d48a68626

## About the Role

Mechanical Engineering, Government, Product Demonstration, Manufacturing, Space Operations, Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Control Systems, System Validation, Thermal Management, * Bachelor's degree in an engineering or science discipline.

 * 2+ years of experience working with fluid or environmental control systems or components.
 * 3+ years of hands-on hardware experience performing fabrication, assembly and/or testing., * Master's degree in an engineering discipline.
 * 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.
 * Experience with soft goods.
 * 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, etcetera.
 * 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.

## Description

* Own the design and development of the environmental and thermal control systems for our artificial-gravity space station, from initial design trades to fully functional and validated system.
 * 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.