Additive Manufacturing Specialist
Vast · Long Beach, CA
- Level
- Specialist
- Team
- Manufacturing
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 5+ years
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- 3 days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A specialist manufacturing role at Vast (aerospace & defense) in Long Beach, CA. Design, build, validate, and release fixtures and tooling for builds, post-processing, and inspection.
- They ask for
- 5+ years · degree required
- Tools it names
- Lean, Root cause, GD&T, CNC, Machining, Tooling
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
How this role compares
Against 277 other live manufacturing postings in California.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- Typical (5+ years)
Typical $109k–$153k, from 101 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Tooling 59%
- ✓ New product launch 54%
- ✓ Root cause 45%
- Automation 35%
- ✓ CATIA / NX 34%
- ✓ Machining 33%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Manufacturing team at Vast
We found 2 people at this company and state: 2 on the team. Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. See them ↓
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
Write to Joanne → (free) - 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Is the work mostly new product launches or sustaining existing lines?
- How much time do you spend on the floor versus at a desk?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: Vast in Long Beach
27 other open roles at this site · 2 people we found on the manufacturing team.
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- Senior Supplier Reliability Engineer · Reliability · Senior
- Supplier Reliability Engineer - Metallic Materials & Processes · Reliability
- Build Reliability Engineer - Avionics · Reliability
- Build Reliability Engineer - Fluid Systems · Reliability
- Senior Program Operations Engineer · Production · Senior
Full description from VastAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Responsibilities
- ◆Plan and set up print jobs. Verify machine parameters, build layouts, and material settings against qualified processes. Monitor builds and make recovery decisions
- ◆Diagnose build failures and process deviations, identify root causes, and recommend corrective actions
- ◆Design, build, validate, and release fixtures and tooling for builds, post-processing, and inspection. Document them with drawings and revision control
- ◆Map and improve workflows from build prep through post-processing, inspection, and release. Track metrics such as cycle time, throughput, first-pass yield, and machine utilization
- ◆Safely handle and track metal powder, including sieving, loading, de-powdering, storage, and lifecycle control
- ◆Perform and schedule preventive maintenance and troubleshoot equipment
- ◆Operate post-processing equipment such as drills, grinders, CNC, and EDM as required
- ◆Perform verifications and keep complete build, test, fixture, and maintenance records
- ◆Write and refine work instructions, SOPs, and safety practices
- ◆Support rapid iteration and development testing with engineering
- ◆Train cross-functional partners and technicians on equipment, procedures, and safe powder handling
Qualifications
- ✓High school degree or equivalency certificate
- ✓5+ years of hands-on metal additive experience (LPBF) and powder handling or similar environment
- ✓CAD proficiency (e.g., Siemens NX or equivalent)
- ✓Comfortable with hand tools and measurement equipment, and able to follow detailed procedures exactly and safely
Preferred Skills & Experience
- ✓9+ years experience of hands-on metal additive experience and powder handling or similar environment
- ✓Ability to read engineering drawings, including GD&T, and work from controlled documentation
- ✓Experience working in aerospace or defense manufacturing environments
- ✓Experience with CNC machining, EDM, or work-holding setup and programming
- ✓Experience with lean or continuous-improvement methods, root-cause analysis, and corrective action
- ✓Experience writing or revising SOPs and work instructions
- ✓Experience with powder quality testing and control
- ✓Experience training or mentoring others
- ✓Excellent written and verbal communication
- ✓Initiative and a record of helping the team raise its standards
Additional
Requirements
- ✓Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones
- ✓Ability to lift up to 50 lbs unassisted
- ✓Ability to work with metal powders using appropriate PPE
Pay Range: California
$46.91 — $66.59 USD
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
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 an Additive Manufacturing Specialist , reporting to the Supervisor, Manufacturing , to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of human-rated space stations. You will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the additive manufacturing equipment, the design of fixturing, and the improvement of additive workflows, as well as part post-processing and quality control.
This will be a full-time, non-exempt position located in our Long Beach location.
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 holde