Senior Harness Design Engineer

Vast; City of Long Beach (NY); On-site; USD 135,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full-time employee equity

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Generous paid time off

Vacation and parental leave

401(k) plan and disability insurance

Onsite meals and perks

Job summary

Vast is seeking a Harness Design Engineer to support Haven station development in Long Beach. You will design flight wire harnesses, develop 3D NX models, and prepare wiring diagrams, ICDs, and test plans for space hardware.

You will collaborate across disciplines to ensure reliable power and data pathways, participate in reviews, and help drive qualification efforts for flight readiness.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical or electrical engineering or related field.
• 2+ years of design-focused experience in harness design.
• 2+ years of experience with wire harness 3D design and wiring diagrams.

Responsibilities

• Develop electro-mechanical flight harness designs for space station.
• Create wiring diagrams, connector layouts and ICDs for systems.
• Analyze power distribution, data paths and signal integrity.
• Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams to meet objectives.

Skills

Wire harness design

3D CAD design

NX CAD

Electrical systems

Team collaboration

Education

BS in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering

Tools

Siemens NX

Teamcenter

Job description

At Vast, our mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space. Vast is developing next-generation space stations to ensure a continuous human presence in space for America and its allies, enabling advanced microgravity research and manufacturing, and unlocking a new space economy for government, corporate, and private customers. Using an incremental, hardware-rich and low-cost approach, Vast is rapidly developing its multi-module Haven Station. Haven Demo’s 2025 success made Vast the only operational commercial space station company to fly and operate its own spacecraft. Next, Haven-1 is expected to become the world’s first commercial space station when it launches, followed by additional Haven modules to enable permanent human presence by 2030. 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 Harness Design Engineer, reporting to the Senior Manager, Harness Design to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and manufacturing of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations. This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.

Responsibilities

• Develop the electro-mechanical design of flight wire harnesses for the Haven space station.
• Develop the electro-mechanical design of development and test harnesses to support qualification testing efforts.
• Design and analyze complex electrical architectures and wire harness systems, including development of detailed wiring diagrams, connector layouts, and system integration documentation for multi-disciplinary spacecraft/vehicle electrical systems.
• Evaluate and implement power distribution and data communication strategies, ensuring proper signal integrity across mixed power/data pathways and selecting appropriate communication protocols ( Ethernet, RS-422, USB, etc.) for system requirements.
• Develop system logic and control architectures, creating interface control documents (ICDs) and performing electrical analysis to ensure compatibility between subsystems, including power budgeting, load analysis, and signal routing optimization
• Meet with multidisciplinary stakeholders to gather harness design objectives and requirements.
• Develop harness design and routing solutions with a 3D NX CAD environment.
• Provide great flight wire harness and vehicle/system level documentation.
• Perform analysis and physical testing of harnessing with respect to thermal, loads, vibration, and shock to ensure full qualification for flight.
• Document and communicate the design, analysis, and testing results thoroughly and clearly through the use of design reviews.
• Interface with harness production and integration teams to ensure final harness designs can be produced and installed on schedule in accordance with overall project goals.
• Perform R&D investigations and trade studies to push wire harness design to new boundaries in terms of capabilities, mass savings, cost savings.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or other engineering discipline.
• 2+ years of experience in design focused roles.
• 2+ years of experience with wire harness 3D design, wiring diagrams, and formboard creation.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Experience designing harnesses to IPC/WHMA-A-620, IPC/WHMA-A-620-S, and NASA-STD-8739.4.
• Strong team working skills with a proven ability to effectively interact and collaborate with other engineering disciplines and excellent attention to detail.
• Experience with Siemens NX and Teamcenter.
• Wire harness component selection and qualification experience.
• General wire harness analysis, testing, and qualification experience.
• 2+ years of experience with harness design and manufacturing documentation.
• Capability to solve complex design problems within tight schedules and minimal supervision.
• Passion for advancing the commercial space industry and space exploration, with a strong desire to revolutionize wire harness design.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, autonomously driven, and demanding startup atmosphere.
• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal.
• Strong sense of personal accountability and drive to succeed.

Additional Requirements

• Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones
• Ability to lift up to 25 lbs unassisted

Pay Range: California

$135,000 — $190,000 USD

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

• Full-time employees also receive company equity
• 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
• other discounts and perks
• exceptional food perks, with snacks, drip coffee & onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge
• lunch subsidized as part of Vast’s ongoing commitment to providing high-quality meals for employees

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.