System Safety Engineer

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 looking for a System Safety Engineer, reporting to the Vice President, Flight Safety & Mission Assurance, to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of the world’s first commercial human-rated space stations

This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location

• Partner with engineering teams to develop a technical understanding of system design and operation. Document hazards to safety and mission and author controls to mitigate the hazard to the greatest extent possible

• Assess and document vehicle compliance with failure tolerance requirements.Identify areas of opportunity for design improvements that minimize risk to people and property

• Participate in design reviews to communicate safety analysis and outcomes, to both internal and external partners

• Perform system safety analyses such as functional hazard analyses, crew survivability analysis, safety data package, human error assessment, range safety compliance

• Minimum of a B.S. degree in aerospace engineering or related field with experience in aerospace, aviation, or a similar safety critical industry

• Experience performing system safety analyses and certification of human-rated space systems

• Experience performing compliance assessment of system safety processes and products against external standards including Range Safety (91-710), NASA, FAA, MIL-STD-882, or ARP-4761.

• Experience performing system safety activities such as functional hazard analyses, crew survivability analysis, safety data package, human error assessment, range safety compliance

• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, fluid schematics, and electrical circuit diagrams

• Strong safety and mission assurance fundamentals

• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal skills, and ability to communicate technical information to non-technical partners

• Ability to form relationships with experts from varying engineering fields and provide constructive feedback about safety concerns

• Ability to travel up to 20% of the time

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

• Ability to lift up to 25 lbs unassisted

• Specific certifications, as appropriate

• System Safety Engineer I: $110,700 - $157,140

• System Safety Engineer II: $135,300 - $192,060