Radiation Effects Engineer

Vast; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 147,600 - 249,096; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Medical, dental, vision

PAID TIME OFF

Parental leave

401(k) retirement plan

Onsite meals and snacks

Job summary

Vast in Long Beach seeks a Senior Radiation Effects Engineer to support design and test activities for the Haven program. Reporting to the Senior Director, Avionics Hardware Development, you will lead tests, develop requirements, and ensure environmental survivability criteria for space stations and modules.

The role requires 4+ years in radiation effects, strong analytical skills, and the ability to collaborate across engineering teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, physics, or related discipline.
• 4+ years of experience in Radiation Effects or similar role.
• MS/PhD in electrical engineering, physics, or related discipline is preferred.
• Experience with radiation shielding analysis and tools such as FASTRAD.
• Experience with radiation environments modeling tools like SPENVIS, OMERE.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and oversee proton beam and heavy ion tests in support of Vast avionics development.
• Guide the development of Radiation Effects and survivability requirements for Vast spacecraft.
• Guide the derivation and distribution of in-space environmental requirements.
• Tailor industry standards such as EEE-INST-002 and NASA 8739.11 for Vast spacecraft and missions.
• Ensure the Radiation Effects team meets project deadlines and company objectives.
• Foster a strong interdisciplinary relationship with other teams that rely on the Radiation Effects team to be successful.
• Exemplify a culture of excellence, extreme ownership, and safety. Enable engineers to take responsibility for the system level impact of their work.

Skills

Radiation Effects

Test Coordination

Space Systems

MATLAB

Python

Communication Skills

Travel Ready

Education

Bachelor's in EE/Physics

MS/PhD in EE or Physics

Tools

FASTRAD

SPENVIS

OMERE

MATLAB

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.

We are looking for a Senior Radiation Effects Engineer, reporting to the Senior Director, Avionics Hardware Development, to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations. This will be a full-time, non-exempt position located in our Long Beach location.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and oversee proton beam and heavy ion tests in support of Vast avionics development.
• Guide the development of Radiation Effects and survivability requirements for Vast spacecraft.
• Guide the derivation and distribution of in-space environmental requirements.
• Tailor industry standards such as EEE-INST-002 and NASA 8739.11 for Vast spacecraft and missions.
• Ensure the Radiation Effects team meets project deadlines and company objectives.
• Foster a strong interdisciplinary relationship with other teams that rely on the Radiation Effects team to be successful.
• Exemplify a culture of excellence, extreme ownership, and safety. Enable engineers to take responsibility for the system level impact of their work.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in electrical engineering, physics, or related discipline.
• 4+ years of experience working in Radiation Effects or similar role.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Ms or PhD in electrical engineering, physics, or related discipline.
• Experience with radiation shielding analysis and tools such as FASTRAD.
• Experience with radiation environments modeling and dose analysis and tools such as SPENVIS, OMERE.
• Experience with in-space charging for spacecraft, plasma, and atomic oxygen.
• Prior experience in an electronics, semiconductors, or electrical systems design role.
• Experience with software development in Matlab, Python, etc.
• Experience with computer architecture & design.
• Experience developing infrastructure for radiation test (procedures, reporting, equipment, etc).
• Strong sense of accountability and integrity with excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to teach people of a multitude of education and industry backgrounds about Radiation Effects.

Additional Requirements

• Ability to travel up to 20% of the time.
• Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones.
• Ability to lift up to 25 lbs unassisted.

Pay Range

Senior Radiation Effects Engineer: $147,600 - $209,520
Staff Radiation Effects Engineer: $175,480 - $249,096
Pay Range: California
$147,600—$249,096 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 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 offer exceptional food perks, with snacks, drip coffee & onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals free of charge, and 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.
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.