Staff HPC Infrastructure Engineer

Socket.dev; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 171,000 - 243,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/dental/vision

Equity

Paid time off

Free meals

Job summary

Vast, based in Long Beach, CA, is building next‑generation space stations and space infrastructure. We are seeking a Staff HPC Infrastructure Engineer to design and grow the high‑performance compute environment that supports engineering analysis for NX/Teamcenter integrations.

This full‑time, exempt role requires 8+ years of HPC experience, a Linux/SLURM background, and a track record of leading technical initiatives.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in HPC administration/architecture.
• Experience supporting HPC clusters for Aerospace or related industries.
• Deep understanding of SLURM and Linux.
• Experience shaping HPC architecture with engineering teams.
• Proven track record of leading technical initiatives from concept through production deployment.
• Bachelor’s degree in CS/IT/Engineering or equivalent work experience.

Responsibilities

• Build, support, and architect Vast’s HPC infrastructure.
• Design and implement enhancements to the HPC environment to improve performance, usability, and cost.
• Provide support to the engineering teams who use HPC for their analysis.
• Own the lifecycle of Vast’s HPC infrastructure, including cluster updates, patching, maintenance, performance, and reliability.
• Integrate the HPC environment with Vast’s broader engineering design cycle including upstream design in NX/Teamcenter and post‑processing.
• Manage process for onboarding new applications and users to the HPC environment.

Skills

HPC administration

Linux

SLURM

Team collaboration

Leadership of initiatives

Python scripting

Problem solving

Floor plan reading

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/IT/Engineering

Tools

AWS ParallelCluster

Terraform

Puppet

Azure

GCP

Nastran

Abaqus

Ansys

STAR-CCM

Wave6

Job description

Vast is developing next-generation space stations and space infrastructure using an incremental, hardware‑rich, and low‑cost approach. Vast is rapidly developing its multi‑module Haven Station 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. 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 in 2027, followed by additional Haven modules. Additionally, the company recently announced Vast Satellite, a high‑power satellite product line leveraging its space station components and the heritage of Haven Demo.

Headquartered in Long Beach, California, and with more than 1,000 employees and over a billion dollars in private capital, Vast has built the facilities required to manufacture and operate America’s next space station. The company plans to develop future habitats and systems for the Moon and Mars, dedicated space stations for government partners, and other crewed systems that will unlock the expanding long‑term space economy.

Vast is looking for a Staff HPC Infrastructure Engineer, reporting to the Manager, IT Infrastructure 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, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.

Responsibilities

• Build, support, and architect Vast’s high‑performance compute (HPC) infrastructure
• Design and implement enhancements to the HPC environment including new features to improve performance, ease of use, and cost optimization
• Provide support to the engineering teams who use HPC for their analysis
• Own the lifecycle of Vast’s HPC infrastructure, including cluster updates, patching, maintenance, performance, and reliability
• Integrate the HPC environment with Vast’s broader engineering design cycle including upstream design in NX/Teamcenter and post‑processing
• Manage process for onboarding new applications and users to the HPC environment

Minimum Qualifications

• 8+ years of HPC administration and architecture or relevant industry experience
• Experience supporting HPC clusters for Aerospace or a related industry, including structural, dynamic, mechanical, computational fluid dynamic analyses
• Deep understanding of SLURM and Linux
• Experience working with engineering organizations to shape architecture and administration of HPC systems to accelerate engineering analysis
• Proven track record of leading technical initiatives from concept through production deployment
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, math, engineering, or equivalent work experience

Preferred Skills & Experience

• AWS Parallel Cluster for HPC
• Infrastructure/configuration as code frameworks including Terraform and Puppet
• Cloud infrastructure experience in AWS, Azure, or GCP
• Expert in Nastran, Abaqus, Ansys, STAR‑CCM, Wave6 analysis software
• Experience building on‑premise HPC environments, including virtualization layers and underlying hardware (compute, storage, networking, and GPU infrastructure)
• Proficiency in Python or an equivalent scripting language
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment
• Ability to make independent judgments with limited information
• Communication skills for relaying data (verbally and in writing) between other employees, vendors, and customers
• Logical and strategic approach to solving problems
• Ability to read and understand basic floor plans
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and adapt to changes in strategic direction

Additional Requirements

• Willingness to work overtime and/ or weekends to support critical mission milestones

Pay Range: California

$171,000 — $243,000 USD

We calibrate level and compensation to the selected candidate's experience and demonstrated capability. We welcome applicants across a range of experience levels to apply.

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 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.

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.