Senior Avionics Test Engineer

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.

Vast is looking for a Senior Avionics Test Engineer, reporting to the Staff Avionics Engineer, to develop and execute creative testing solutions for our complex Avionics and Power systems for our Haven programs. Your input will be vital in testing new and existing avionics hardware to support our Haven-1 mission and beyond.

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

Responsibilities:

Develop and perform hands-on testing of avionics components and systems.

Perform receiving inspections and checkouts of COTS Avionics components from partner vendors.

Perform avionics testing at the system level during vehicle integration and pre-ship checkouts.

Provide test results to other team members in concise and organized fashion.

Design test fixtures for complex avionics component test setups.

Design and build avionics test racks for component and system level testing, automating the testing process where applicable.

Partner with manufacturing and integration engineers to develop work instructions and installation procedures for integrating and testing avionics hardware.

Work cross-functionally with design engineers, manufacturing engineers, and test lab teams to drive design or infrastructure improvements to increase product reliability and yield.

Provide technical guidance and mentorship to teammates.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or other engineering discipline.

5+ years of experience with avionics design, analysis, and/or unit level testing.

Experience with avionics test equipment such as oscilloscopes, multimeters, current probes.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

Ability to communicate highly technical topics to a variety of audiences.

Ability to creatively solve problems and weigh against multi-disciplinary requirements.

Working knowledge of electrical schematics and electronics manufacturing to analyze and improve test coverage.

Experience developing object oriented software in Python, LabVIEW, C/C++, JS, etc.

Experience writing automation software to interact with units under test, test equipment,and manufacturing tools.

Experience automating test equipment and measurement techniques to verify and validate product requirements.

Understanding of metrology, sources of measurement error, and uncertainty analysis.

Exposure to SMT lines and electronics manufacturing.

Familiarity with National Instruments platforms including DAQmx, PXI, and cRIO.

Extensive understanding of instrumentation, interfaces, and sensors including DMMs, DAQ, power supplies, oscilloscopes, DIO, GPIB, USB, Serial-422, VISA, UDP, GigE, SPI, switch technologies and topologies, accelerometers, RTDs, thermocouples, and 4-20mA sensors.

Understanding and experience in environmental testing such as vibration, shock, thermal, burn-in, and TVAC.

Additional Requirements:

Ability to travel up to 10% travel to support launch campaigns.

Salary Range: California

$135,000—$170,000 USD

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.