Director, Power Systems

Vast is looking for a Director, Power Systems, reporting to the Senior Director, Haven, to lead the development of the Electronics and Power Systems for our artificial-gravity human-rated space station. This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.

Responsibilities: 

• Recruit, retain and empower a diverse team of engineers to develop solar panels, batteries, power point trackers, and power distribution units
• Set and lead the power department strategy and drive overall results against business objectives 
• End-to-end ownership of power distribution electronics specification, architecture, simulation, schematic capture, PCB design, mechanical packaging design, board-level bring-up and validation, environmental qualification (vibration, thermal vacuum), and integrated system-level validation
• Design of circuits to implement functions such as load switching, hot-swapping, power conditioning, inrush control, over-current fault detection, and electronic release mechanisms
• Development of space station power system harnessing and high-current interconnect solutions
• Perform failure modes and effects analyses and drive reliability design and validation plans at the system level
• Assist in the evaluation and selection of technologies, tools, and third-party partners
• Iterate on manufacturing processes and development testing in a fast-paced environment
• Own the project delivery timeline from early design through production, launch, and orbit operations
• Perform systems engineering tasks and power analyses
• Lead design reviews internally and externally with suppliers and customers

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in electrical engineering or related or other engineering discipline
• 10+ years of experience in developing power electronics
• 5+ years of experience building and managing teams to deliver on a technical vision and strategy

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Master's Degree in an engineering discipline
• Experience with batteries, MPPTs, power distribution units, solar arrays
• Ability to creatively solve problems and bring multiple disciplines together while assessing risk and making design and development decisions with incomplete data set
• Professional experience with instrumentation and data acquisition (e.g. SPICE, SQL, and/or National Instruments hardware)
• Experience with software programming: Matlab, Python, C/C++, etc.
• Experience with vehicle and instrumentation buses such as Ethernet, CAN, SPI, and I2C, as well as serial I/O (RS232/422/485)
• Experience with full-lifecycle product development
• Experience with designing power systems for spaceflight environment, verifying workmanship and operability through environmental test (random vibration, shock, thermal, burn-in, and TVAC)
• Strong sense of accountability and integrity with excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to thrive at an early-stage startup where you will have the opportunity to help create and optimize key systems and processes

Pay Range: 

• Director of Power Systems Level V: $185,000-$220,000