Propulsion Engineer - Pressure Vessels Lead (COPV)

The role

You will design and qualify pressure vessels for human-rated space stations. You will lead a team, set technical approaches, and own the full product lifecycle from concept to end-of-life.

What you will do

• Lead the pressure vessel team by setting technical direction and developing engineers
• Serve as technical authority over Haven Station COPV and metallic tank designs
• Set the analysis and test approach for the team
• Lead failure investigations on prototype and qualification hardware
• Own tank requirements and interfaces with Propulsion, ECLSS, and Structures
• Support engineers with liner suppliers, winders, and metallic fabrication shops
• Work with manufacturing engineers on producibility and inspection methods
• Write and defend the qualification and fracture control approach for crewed flight

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, materials science, or equivalent experience
• 4+ years of experience designing, analyzing, or testing pressure vessels or composite structures for flight or other high consequence use
• Experience carrying hardware from design through build and test

Nice to have

• Composite overwrapped pressure vessel design, analysis, or test
• Design and qualification to AIAA S-081 or S-080
• Fracture control for crewed spacecraft per NASA-STD-5019
• Filament winding pattern design and composite manufacturing
• Titanium tank fabrication: forgings, superplastic forming, welding, heat treatment, and inspection
• Propellant management device design
• Type IV hydrogen or CNG tank development
• Analysis in Ansys, Abaqus, or Femap/Nastran, including laminate analysis
• WoundSim or similar winding simulation
• Experience leading or mentoring engineers and reviewing their design releases

Benefits

• company equity
• 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
• snacks, drip coffee & onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge
• lunch subsidized

About the company

Vast is developing next-generation space stations and space infrastructure. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, the company is building the Haven Station to support a continuous human presence in space.