Senior Power Systems Engineer

About the role

Vast is looking for a Senior Power Systems Engineer, reporting to the Senior Manager, Avionics and Power Systems, to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of high power satellites. This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.

Responsibilities

• Own the satellite power system end to end, including architectural trades, functional and technical interface definitions (hardware and software), hierarchical requirements specification, and verification and validation planning and execution
• Serve as the technical authority for the spacecraft power system. Own flight readiness assessment, disposition nonconformances and waivers against the power system, and hold final sign-off authority on power system configuration for launch
• Define ground and flight power modes and own the power budget. Build and defend first-principles energy balance models that size generation, storage, and margin across orbit geometries, eclipse profiles, and off-nominal modes to verify power positivity, and justify the model fidelity chosen for the decision being made
• Decompose system requirements into unit-level requirements at the circuit and functional level, covering parameters such as voltage and current ranges, regulation and ripple, efficiency, inrush and fault current limits, protection and isolation, margin, and derating. Define and execute the corresponding verification, including test setup, instrumentation, pass/fail criteria, and data review, and determine whether results actually close the requirement
• Drive power-relevant design decisions across mechanical, thermal, propulsion, GNC, and flight software. Capture system-level operating modes, constraints, and behaviors and drive their implementation on the power system; surface the questions others aren't asking, escalate unresolved interface conflicts, and secure convergence on the correct integrated design
• Partner with Responsible Engineers on component-level design and test approach, ensuring component specifications and acceptance criteria trace to system-level power requirements
• Perform system-level failure modes, effects,