
Build Reliability Engineer - Fluid Systems
Vast · Long Beach, CA
- Level
- Engineer
- Team
- Reliability
- Travel
- 5%
- Degree
- Required (or equivalent experience)
- Experience asked
- 2+ years
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- 3 days ago
The role in 30 seconds
An engineer-level reliability role at Vast (aerospace & defense) in Long Beach, CA. In this role, you will support machining, additive, and structural sub-assembly work centers, operating at the intersection of design, manufacturing, integration, and testing to ensure that our space systems meet the highest standards of safety, quality.
- They ask for
- 2+ years · degree required (or equivalent experience)
- Tools it names
- Six Sigma, Root cause, MSA / Gage R&R, DOE, ISO 9001, AS9100
- Day to day
- about 5% travel
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
How this role compares
Against 89 other live reliability postings in California.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- Less than usual (2+ vs 5+)
Typical $111k–$158k, from 51 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Root cause 79%
- FMEA 50%
- ✓ New product launch 49%
- Automation 39%
- ✓ DOE 29%
- SPC 24%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for MSA / Gage R&R, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with 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 Reliability team at Vast
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find 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.
- 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- The posting says about 5% travel. Between which sites?
- 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.
- Avionics System Test Operations Engineer · Production
- Senior Supplier Reliability Engineer · Reliability · Senior
- Supplier Reliability Engineer - Metallic Materials & Processes · Reliability
- Additive Manufacturing Specialist · Manufacturing · Specialist
- Build Reliability Engineer - Avionics · Reliability
- Senior Program Operations Engineer · Production · Senior
Full description from VastAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Responsibilities
- ◆Own Build Reliability for fluid system component and sub-assembly build and test work centers, setting expectations for reliability, manufacturability, and build and flight readiness, and ensuring lessons are learned and applied to future programs.
- ◆Enable successful introduction of new products to production, ensuring designs are manufacturable,
requirements
are valid and verifiable, measurement systems and processes are capable and efficient, and work instructions, equipment, tooling, and personnel are ready to achieve rate reliably.
- ✓Mature manufacturing and verification processes by improving process controls, tooling, measurement methods, data collection, work instructions, and training.
- ✓Collect and analyze build data to identify risk and recurring issues. Lead build quality reviews, generate data-driven recommendations to prevent issues and quality escapes, and effectively implement them in collaboration with partner teams.
- ✓Ensure off-nominal work is performed and documented reliably. Provide leadership and technical direction for high-visibility issues, establishing recovery plans and aligning operations, quality, and engineering on execution. Partner with Mission Assurance to ensure risks are escalated and properly mitigated across Vast.
- ✓Lead containment and root-cause investigation of high-impact issues. Ensure implementation and verification of corrective actions that address root cause and systemic contributors.
- ✓Lead cost-of-quality reduction initiatives that simplify requirements, leverage part and feature criticality to streamline inspection, improve design standards, and strengthen process controls to prevent non-conformances at the source.
Qualifications
- ✓Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline or equivalent experience
- ✓2+ years of experience in manufacturing, design, quality, reliability, or related roles (internship experience qualifies)
Preferred Skills & Experience
- ✓Experience working in aerospace, defense, or other high-reliability manufacturing environments
- ✓Direct experience working on any of the following products/processes:
- ✓Fluid handling / control systems (tubes, valves, sensors)
- ✓Complex mechanical/structural assemblies
- ✓Precision cleaning and verification
- ✓Welding (in particular orbital tube welding)
- ✓Functional testing, pressure testing, environmental testing
- ✓Proven track record of taking ownership in projects, performing root-cause analysis and corrective actions, and influencing suppliers to drive results
- ✓Demonstrated ability to learn new tools, processes, and technical concepts quickly
- ✓Ability to thrive in a fast paced environment and collaborate effectively across a matrix of functions across the organization
- ✓Detail-oriented mindset, great organizational and project-management skills
- ✓Strong written and verbal communication skills, capable of interfacing with and conveying concepts to all levels of Vast
- ✓Experience in statistical controls and methods (e.g. MSA, DOE, hypothesis testing, etc.)
- ✓Disciplined problem-solving approach (Six Sigma, 8D, etc.)
- ✓Working knowledge of quality systems and standards (ISO 9001, AS9100, etc.)
- ✓Advanced degree in an engineering discipline
Additional
Requirements
- ✓Ability to travel up to 5%
- ✓Ability to support mission-critical events outside normal working hours
Pay Range: California
$112,340 — $195,552 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 a Build Reliability Engineer (Fluid Systems), reporting to the Staff Build Reliability Engineer , to support the reliability of flight hardware across the product lifecycle for our human-rated space stations. In this role, you will support machining, additive, and structural sub-assembly work centers, operating at the intersection of design, manufacturing, integration, and testing to ensure that our space systems meet the highest standards of safety, quality, and performance. This will be a full-time, exempt position at our Long Beach location.
