Space Station Solar Array Mechanisms Engineer

Vast; City of Long Beach (NY); On-site; USD 112,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company equity

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

401(k) retirement plan

Onsite meals and snacks

Job summary

Vast in Long Beach is seeking a Solar Array Engineer, Mechanical, to design, analyze, build and test deployment and articulation mechanisms for space station solar arrays. You will work with cross-functional teams to meet system-level requirements and NASA standards, and travel up to 50%.

Requires a bachelor in ME/AE, 5–10 years in space mechanisms, hands-on hardware experience, and experience with environmental testing. California pay range listed; full-time exempt.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering.
• 5–10 years designing, building, and testing electromechanical systems.
• Experience with mechanism design fundamentals: bearings, gears, motors, springs.
• Ability to defend a torque or force budget from first principles.
• Experience with environmental testing of mechanical hardware.
• Hands-on experience assembling or integrating hardware.

Responsibilities

• Design and analyze solar array deployment mechanisms (hinges, springs, latches).
• Design solar array articulation (gimbals, gear trains, motors, encoders).
• Maintain torque budgets and conduct life and margin verification.
• Select bearings, lubricants, motors, and gearboxes for space use.
• Support environmental test campaigns (vibration, vacuum, life tests).
• Contribute to design reviews and NASA deliverables.

Skills

Mechanism design

Bearings & gears

Torque budgets

Environmental testing

Hands-on hardware

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering

Tools

NX CAD

Teamcenter

MATLAB/Python

FEA

Job description

Vast in Long Beach is seeking a Solar Array Engineer, Mechanical, to design, analyze, build and test deployment and articulation mechanisms for space station solar arrays. You will work with cross-functional teams to meet system-level requirements and NASA standards, and travel up to 50%.

Requires a bachelor in ME/AE, 5–10 years in space mechanisms, hands-on hardware experience, and experience with environmental testing. California pay range listed; full-time exempt.