Solar Array Engineer, Mechanical

Vast is looking for a Solar Array Engineer, Mechanical, reporting to the Principal Power Systems Engineer, to support the design, analysis, build, and test of mechanisms for solar array deployment and articulation on human-rated space stations.

Responsibilities:

• Design and analyze mechanisms for solar array deployment, including spring-driven hinges, latches, dampers, and hold-down/release devices
• Design and analyze mechanisms for solar array articulation, including motorized gimbals, gear trains, bearings, and drive electronics interfaces
• Build and maintain torque budgets for deployment and articulation mechanisms, including friction, harness resistance, disturbance torques, and margin verification per NASA-STD-5017B
• Select and specify bearings, lubricants, motors, gearboxes, encoders/resolvers, and other drivetrain components for the space environment
• Perform or support mechanism life analysis — bearing life, lubricant life, wear analysis — and define qualification test programs to demonstrate life margin
• Design for integration and test — develop deployment test procedures, gravity offload approaches, and workmanship screens
• Interface with structures, thermal, GN&C, and power teams to ensure mechanisms meet system-level requirements (deployed stiffness, pointing accuracy, disturbance torques, power transfer across rotating joints)
• Support environmental test campaigns (vibration, thermal vacuum, shock, life testing) per SMC-S-016
• Perform or support failure analysis, root cause investigation, and mechanism anomaly resolution
• Participate in design reviews, FMEA/FMECA, and technical documentation for internal and NASA deliverables

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or related discipline
• 5–10 years of experience designing, building, and testing electromechanical systems — preferably mechanisms for spacecraft, satellites, or robotic systems
• Demonstrated experience with mechanism design fundamentals: bearings, gears, motors, springs, fasteners, and structural load paths
• Ability to build and defend a torque budget or force budget for a mechanism from first principles
• Experience with environmental testing of mechanical hardware (vibration, thermal cycling, life testing)
• Hands-on experience — you have built, assembled, or integrated the hardware you designed

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Experience with spring-driven deployable mechanisms — hinges, latches, dampers, hold-down/release devices. Understanding of deployment torque margin verification and ground test challenges (gravity offload, thermal effects on torque budget)
• Experience with motorized mechanisms — gimbals, solar array drive assemblies (SADAs), antenna positioners, or robotic actuators. Familiarity with BLDC motors, stepper motors, gearbox types (planetary, harmonic drive, cycloidal), and anti-backlash techniques
• Knowledge of tribology for the space environment — solid film lubricants (MoS₂, WS₂), space-rated greases (Braycote, Pennzane), lubricant life analysis, and the challenges of ground testing vs. on-orbit performance
• Familiarity with NASA-STD-5017B (mechanism design and analysis) including torque margin requirements and life testing philosophy
• Experience with bearing design for space mechanisms — angular contact bearing configurations, preload methods, thermal effects on preload, and lubrication-limited life analysis
• Understanding of control and feedback architecture for pointing mechanisms — encoders, resolvers, motor-side vs. load-side feedback, backlash compensation
• Familiarity with FBD construction and deployment dynamics — conservation of angular momentum, spacecraft disturbance torques during deployment, and ACS interaction
• Familiarity with SMC-S-016 or GEVS environmental test requirements
• CAD experience in NX or similar (Teamcenter experience is a plus)
• Experience with analysis tools — hand calculations, MATLAB/Python for mechanism dynamics, FEA for structural assessment of mechanism components

Additional Requirements:

• Ability to travel up to 50% of the time
• Willingness to work evenings and/or weekends to support critical mission milestones
• Ability to lift up to 25lbs unassisted
• Specific certifications, as appropriate

The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore, must either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.62 or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. This status includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending.