Supervisor, Orbital Tube Welding

Socket.dev; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 94,000 - 134,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company equity

Paid time off

Vacation days

Job summary

Vast is seeking a Supervisor, Orbital Tube Welding in Long Beach to lead technicians in fluid systems manufacturing. You will direct welding, bending, and fabrication, ensuring accurate documentation, ERPs, and cross-functional support with Quality and Design Engineering.

You’ll drive processes from development to repeatable production, coach engineers, and monitor production KPIs to improve safety, quality, delivery, and cost. Evening/weekend support may be needed.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in a manufacturing environment, preferably supporting metallic structures or assemblies.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or comparable STEM field.
• Experience developing, implementing, or sustaining manufacturing processes, tooling, or production systems.

Responsibilities

• Supervise and support a team of technicians responsible for fluid systems manufacturing; provide daily direction, technical guidance, and performance feedback
• Execute and sustain manufacturing processes including orbital tube welding, tube bending, and related fabrication operations
• Ensure manufacturing documentation is accurate and current, including work instructions, routings, inspection steps, and ERP/MRP updates
• Partner with Quality and Design Engineering to investigate non-conformances, perform root-cause analysis, and implement corrective actions
• Collaborate with Design Engineering to provide manufacturability feedback and support transitions from development builds into repeatable production
• Monitor production performance, identify process inefficiencies, and implement continuous improvement initiatives to enhance safety, quality, delivery, and cost
• Support structural assembly build and inspection activities to ensure compliance with all safety and quality requirements
• Assist in production floor layout planning, capacity analysis, and workflow optimization to meet program schedules
• Provide hands-on support on the production floor to troubleshoot manufacturing issues and remove blockers in real time

Skills

Aerospace welding

CAD NX

Teamcenter

GD&T

ERP/MRP/MES

Process improvement

Root cause analysis

Leadership

Production support

Manufacturing quality

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or STEM

Tools

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 seeking a Supervisor, Orbital Tube Welding, reporting to the Manager, Fluid Systems Manufacturing, to support the development and production systems required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations.

This is a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.

Responsibilities:

• Supervise and support a team of technicians responsible for fluid systems manufacturing; provide daily direction, technical guidance, and performance feedback
• Execute and sustain manufacturing processes including orbital tube welding, tube bending, and related fabrication operations
• Ensure manufacturing documentation is accurate and current, including work instructions, routings, inspection steps, and ERP/MRP updates
• Partner with Quality and Design Engineering to investigate non-conformances, perform root-cause analysis, and implement corrective actions
• Collaborate with Design Engineering to provide manufacturability feedback and support transitions from development builds into repeatable production
• Monitor production performance, identify process inefficiencies, and implement continuous improvement initiatives to enhance safety, quality, delivery, and cost
• Support structural assembly build and inspection activities to ensure compliance with all safety and quality requirements
• Assist in production floor layout planning, capacity analysis, and workflow optimization to meet program schedules
• Provide hands-on support on the production floor to troubleshoot manufacturing issues and remove blockers in real time

Minimum Qualifications:

• 3+ years of experience in a manufacturing environment, preferably supporting metallic structures or assemblies

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or comparable STEM field
• Experience developing, implementing, or sustaining manufacturing processes, tooling, or production systems
• Experience working in fast-paced development environments with evolving designs and requirements
• Demonstrated experience resolving manufacturing non-conformances and participating in root-cause and corrective action processes
• Experience leading small teams, projects, or work streams in a manufacturing setting
• Prior experience supervising or mentoring engineers or technicians in a production environment
• Strong understanding of welding and metallic fabrication processes
• Experience supporting development-to-production transitions for new products or programs
• Familiarity with aerospace tooling or structural fabrication from concept through production
• Proficiency with CAD systems (NX, Teamcenter)
• Strong understanding of GD&T and ability to interpret complex engineering drawings.
• Experience working with ERP, MRP, or MES systems
• Hands-on experience with aerospace welding processes (TIG, Plasma, repair techniques)
• Familiarity with aerospace standards, production documentation, NDE techniques, and quality systems
• 5+ years in aerospace manufacturing environments

Additional Requirements:

• Willingness to work evenings or weekends to support critical program milestones
• Ability to spend significant time on the production floor supporting builds, troubleshooting processes, and coaching team members

Pay Range: California $94,000—$133,860 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 coverage for employees and dependents
• Dental coverage
• Vision coverage
• Generous paid time off
• Up to 20+ days of vacation for exempt staff
• 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: 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.