Vast Avionics Manufacturing Engineer, Solar Array at Vast supporting design and production of solar arrays for human-rated space stations. Responsible for manufacturability feedback, process development, tooling design, and testing support.
Responsibilities
Collaborate with design teams to provide professional feedback on the manufacturability and assembly processes of solar arrays for crewed stations and satellites.
Support new product introduction by developing the manufacturing processes needed for solar array production and integration.
Create and maintain detailed manufacturing plans, assembly procedures, and work instructions to ensure consistent, accurate production of solar arrays and other avionics hardware.
Design and implement tooling to improve production and test processes, aid inspection, and ensure safety.
Support environmental and deployment testing of solar arrays throughout development, acceptance, and qualification campaigns.
Identify and resolve manufacturing challenges by conducting root cause analysis and implementing corrective actions (RCCA).
Drive process and product improvements that meet integration timelines and improve efficiency, quality, and cost-effectiveness.
Work closely with suppliers to ensure timely delivery of high-quality components, reviewing and approving their manufacturing processes.
Perform hands-on assembly, integration, and testing, ensuring compliance with engineering specifications and industry standards.
Participate in design reviews, offering insights that improve the manufacturability and reliability of this hardware.
Partner with quality assurance teams to establish and maintain rigorous quality control processes for the manufacturing organization.
Mentor less experienced colleagues on manufacturing best practices, and collaborate across the team on documentation review and product support.
Qualification
Project management experienceFamiliarity with the designExperience with thermal vacuumFamiliarity with acceptance criteria
Required
Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
2+ years of experience in solar array manufacturing, including processes such as bonding, composite fabrication, harness manufacturing, and electro-mechanical assembly.
Experience in tooling and ground support equipment (GSE) design and/or manufacturing.
Project management experience, with the ability to own deliverables and meet key milestone deadlines.
Preferred
Strong understanding of adhesive bonding, composite fabrication, harnessing, and tooling manufacturing processes, with hands-on assembly techniques specific to solar arrays.
Experience with cell-level processes such as IV testing, binning, and coverglass-interconnected-cell (CIC) lay-up and lamination.
Experience with stringer machine technology for cell alignment, tabbing, and soldering. Hands-on experience operating, programming or maintaining a stringer machine is a strong plus.
Experience with composite substrate and panel fabrication is a plus.
Familiarity with the design, routing, and integration of wire harnesses, including strain relief and termination to array’s power bus.
Experience designing and manufacturing tooling, ground support equipment (GSE), and test equipment to support production and acceptance testing.
Experience with thermal vacuum, electrical performance, and deployment testing of solar arrays and test coupons.
Familiarity with acceptance criteria, and rework/repair procedures, for solar cells and completed arrays.
