Vast is looking for a
Senior / Staff Build Reliability Engineer (Avionics), reporting to the
Director of Build & Supplier Reliability, to support the reliability of flight avionics hardware across the product lifecycle for our human-rated space stations.
This will be a
full-time,
exempt position located in our
Long Beach location.
Responsibilities: - Own Build Reliability for avionics hardware and work centers, setting expectations for reliability, manufacturability, and build and flight readiness.
- Partner with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and Mission Assurance leadership to ensure robust, scalable quality and verification plans across the product lifecycle, with lessons consistently carried across programs.
- Ensure successful introduction of flight hardware by defining readiness criteria-including process qualification, manufacturability, and inspectability-and driving the retirement of build risks through production ramp-up.
- Drive maturation of internal avionics production processes, ensuring documentation, equipment, tooling, process controls, data collection, and training support consistent and streamlined execution.
- Ensure off-nominal work is performed and documented reliably. Partner with Mission Assurance to drive risk mitigations and steer response plans to severe issues. Provide leadership and technical direction for high-visibility issues, establishing recovery plans and aligning operations, quality, and engineering on execution.
- Collect and analyze build data to identify risk and recurring issues. Lead build quality reviews, generate data-driven recommendations, and effectively influence partner teams to prioritize efforts that prevent escapes and improve reliability.
- Lead containment and root-cause investigation of high-impact Avionics-related issues. Ensure implementation and verification of robust corrective actions that address root cause and systemic contributors across Vast.
- Lead major cost reduction initiatives through simplification of requirements, clearer design standards, streamlined inspection and process validation steps, and strengthened process controls.
- Mentor individuals and teams to elevate reliability capabilities across the company.
Minimum Qualifications:- Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline or equivalent experience
- 12+ years of experience in quality, manufacturing, reliability, or design in aerospace, defense, or high-reliability hardware environments
- Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives with executive visibility and influence technical direction across organizations
- Excellent communication and technical leadership skills
Preferred Skills & Experience:- Proven track record of driving systemic improvements and shaping engineering strategy.
- Deep expertise in reliability engineering, quality systems, and standards (ISO 9001, AS9100, etc.)
- Mastery of advanced reliability and quality tools (RCA, FMEA, SPC, control plans); Six Sigma Black Belt or equivalent experience preferred
- Strong technical depth in avionics design, manufacturing, integration, and/or test
Additional Requirements:- Ability to travel up to 10%
- Ability to support mission-critical events outside normal working hours
Pay Range: California
$137,760-$230,472 USD
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITSBase 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: medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, generous paid time off; up to 20+ days of vacation for exempt staff and up to 10+ days of vacation for non-exempt staff with the ability to cash-out unused vacation annually, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, ClassPass credits, personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health, and other discounts and perks. We also take pride in offering exceptional food perks, with snacks, drip coffee & onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge, and lunch subsidized as part of Vast's ongoing commitment to providing high-quality meals for employees.
