Senior / Staff Build Reliability Engineer (Avionics) New Long Beach, California, United States

Vast Space Llc.; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 137,760 - 230,472; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Paid time off

Parental leave

401(k) plan

Job summary

Vast Space Llc. is seeking a Senior / Staff Build Reliability Engineer in Long Beach, CA. In this role, you will support the reliability of flight avionics hardware throughout the product lifecycle and partner with multiple teams to improve quality and efficiency.

You will oversee the Build Reliability process and lead major initiatives, utilizing your extensive experience in aerospace environments.

The position offers a competitive salary range of $137,760 - $230,472 USD based on experience and education, along with comprehensive benefits including health coverage and 401(k).

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in aerospace, defense, or high-reliability hardware environments.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives with executive visibility.
• Deep expertise in reliability engineering and quality standards.

Responsibilities

• Own Build Reliability for avionics hardware.
• Drive maturation of avionics production processes.
• Collect and analyze build data to improve reliability.
• Lead root-cause investigations for high-impact issues.

Skills

Leadership

Reliability Engineering

Quality Systems

Communication

Problem Solving

Education

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline

Tools

Quality Control Tools

Reliability Tools (RCA, FMEA, SPC)

Job description

Overview

Senior / Staff Build Reliability Engineer (Avionics), reporting to the Director of Build & Supplier Reliability. Location: Long Beach, California, United States. This role supports the reliability of flight avionics hardware across the product lifecycle for Vast’s human-rated space stations.

Vast is building Haven Station modules to enable permanent human presence in space. The team is focused on safe, on-time execution and collaboration across engineering, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and mission assurance.

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.
• Define readiness criteria for flight hardware–including process qualification, manufacturability, and inspectability–and drive 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 are consistent and streamlined.
• 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, 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 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

Compensation and Benefits

Pay Range: California

$137,760 - $230,472 USD

Base salary will vary depending on job-related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand. Salary is one component of a comprehensive compensation package, including equity, health benefits, paid time off, parental leave, disability and life insurance, 401(k), and other perks.