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VAST

Develops artificial gravity space stations

Senior/Staff Supplier Reliability Engineer

Quality EngineeringUpdated on Nov 10
Full-timeLong Beach, CA, USA

About the Job

Requirements

  • A master's degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Materials, Manufacturing, Industrial, or Electrical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
  • At least 5 years of experience in reliability, process, or quality engineering in a production environment, including hands-on root cause and corrective action on product or process issues.
  • Working knowledge of manufacturing and special processes, failure mechanisms, and inspection or nondestructive examination methods.
  • Experience reading and applying industry specifications and drawing requirements.
  • Willingness to work evenings and/or weekends to support critical mission milestones.
  • Ability to lift up to 25 pounds unassisted.
  • Ability to travel up to 50% of the time.

Responsibilities

  • Evaluate and onboard new suppliers, and conduct regular audits, assessments, and evaluations to confirm they meet Vast's quality standards.
  • Build and maintain supplier relationships, address quality issues, identify supply chain risks, and implement improvements.
  • Work with design and manufacturing engineers to understand the design intent of piece parts, assemblies, and subsystems.
  • Conduct design-for-manufacturability reviews early, ideally before sourcing.
  • Work with procurement to source parts strategically by assessing supplier manufacturing processes, inspection practices, and quality systems.
  • Drive continuous improvement with suppliers and internally by analyzing quality data, identifying trends, and implementing corrective and preventive actions that improve quality and reduce cost.
  • Define supplier technical and quality requirements from customer and program requirements for new product introduction and production.
  • Analyze supplier quality and delivery metrics to identify trends and systemic performance gaps, and build supplier improvement plans.
  • Lead root cause and corrective action for escapes or nonconformances found in Vast manufacturing or the Vast supply chain.

Desired Qualifications

  • A proven record of taking root cause and corrective actions to verified closure and influencing suppliers to achieve results.
  • Hands-on failure analysis experience.
  • Working knowledge of quality systems (ISO 9000, AS9100, NADCAP) and supplier quality processes (PPAP, APQP, FAI).
  • Familiarity with aerospace specifications for special processes, inspection, and process control.
  • Experience applying statistical methods (measurement system analysis, design of experiments, hypothesis testing, process capability index) and structured problem solving (8D, fault tree, Ishikawa, Six Sigma).
  • Experience with additive manufacturing, welding, fracture mechanics, or damage tolerance.
  • Experience with manufacturing execution systems and product lifecycle management systems, plus Google Suite, SQL, and Python.
  • Strong written and verbal communication, with the ability to explain technical findings to all levels of Vast and the supply base.

About the Company

VAST

Develops artificial gravity space stations

Vast Space builds artificial gravity space stations to enable long-term human life in space. Its approach uses large rotating habitats that generate centrifugal force to mimic Earth's gravity, helping astronauts stay healthy during extended missions. The company designs, tests, demonstrates, services, and manufactures space infrastructure and customizable habitat modules for government space agencies, private aerospace companies, and research institutions that operate in lunar, Martian, or deep-space missions. Unlike others, Vast Space focuses on end-to-end artificial gravity solutions and ongoing support, not just concepts, and targets contracts that provide sustainable space habitats for science, exploration, and colonization efforts. The overall goal is to expand humanity’s reach across the solar system by creating scalable, gravity-enabled habitats that enable safe, long-term presence in space while protecting Earth's ecosystem.

Company size
501-1,000
Company stage
Series A
Total funding
$500M
Headquarters
Long Beach, CA
Founded
2021

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