Principal Manufacturing Engineer

Vast is looking for a(n) Principal Manufacturing Engineer, reporting to the Vice President, Manufacturing to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of human-rated space stations.

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

Responsibilities: 

• Lead the design and continuous Improvement of  manufacturing processes and production systems across the factory, with focus on flow, execution, scalability, and business impact.
• Identify, prioritize,  and eliminate bottlenecks across manufacturing, integration, test, inspection, material movement, and production control.
• Drive the transition from prototype builds to repeatable low-volume production while maintaining speed and flexibility.
• Develop scalable operating processes, ownership models, and execution rhythms that improve factory performance.
• Own the strategy and integration for ERP, MRP, MES, PLS, mBOM, routing, work instruction, and production control systems.
• Serve as the technical and business process owner for key production workflows, including MRR/PRR, manufacturing inputs to CDR, material flow, kitting, staging, inventory accuracy, and production readiness controls. 
• Leverage  production data, schedule performance, NC trends, and factory observations to identify issues and drive corrective actions.
• Serve as business process owner for standardization across 
• Partner with design, quality, supply chain, planning, production, test, and integration teams to solve cross-functional execution problems.
• Challenge existing manufacturing and operational assumptions using data, first-principles thinking, and direct factory engagement.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related STEM discipline.
• 10+ years of manufacturing engineering experience supporting complex hardware development, production execution, or factory operations.
• Experience improving manufacturing processes, production systems, material flow, or factory execution across multiple products, programs, or work centers.
• Demonstrated advanced experience supporting the transition from prototype development to repeatable production or low-rate manufacturing.
• Experience owning or improving production business processes such as MRR/PRR, manufacturing inputs to CDR, production readiness, mBOMs, routings, work instructions, or production control.
• Experience working with ERP, MRP, MES, PLS, or similar manufacturing execution and production control systems.
• Experience identifying bottlenecks, analyzing factory performance, and driving improvements in throughput, schedule reliability, quality, or cost.
• Experience resolving complex manufacturing, quality, material, or production execution issues using structured problem-solving methods.
• Experience collaborating across manufacturing, production, design engineering, quality, supply chain, planning, test, integration, and program management teams.
• Strong understanding of aerospace or complex hardware manufacturing operations, including assembly, integration, test, inspection, fabrication, machining, welding, automation, or related production processes.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Experience building or transforming manufacturing organizations during a major scale-up, factory ramp, or operating model change.
• Strong understanding of how engineering release, configuration management, change control, and production execution processes interact in complex hardware environments.
• Experience defining system requirements or business requirements for manufacturing tools, digital workflows, production dashboards, or factory data infrastructure.
• Demonstrated ability to turn ambiguous factory problems into clear operating models, decision frameworks, and scalable execution processes.
• Experience influencing senior technical, operational, and program leaders across organizational boundaries without direct authority.
• Experience developing executive-level recommendations, business cases, trade studies, or implementation plans for major factory improvement initiatives.
• Strong ability to balance process discipline with speed, flexibility, and engineering iteration in a fast-moving development environment.
• Experience working in human-rated, safety-critical, mission-critical, or highly regulated hardware programs.
• Expertise with Lean, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints, or similar operational excellence methods applied in practical factory environments.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with ability to simplify complex technical and operational topics for broad audiences.

Additional Requirements:

• Ability to lift up to 25 pounds unassisted.
• Ability to work on the manufacturing floor for extended periods supporting production activities.
• Willingness to work evenings, weekends, and travel as necessary to support critical program milestones.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain any required export control authorizations.