VAST Data
Solar Array Test Engineer
Long Beach, California, United States · Senior · Full-time
Stay score
odds of building a lasting career here
Sponsors, but it's cap-subject — you still face the weighted lottery (~61% per draw at Level IV). Good if you win; have a cap-exempt backup on your list.
Lottery odds assume a STEM candidate.
Personalize to your clock →H-1B wage level
the lottery is wage-weighted — each level is one more entry
$6,990 more — $119,330 — moves this role to Level III and 3 lottery entries. That figure is inside the range the employer already advertised.
Based on the DOL prevailing wage for this occupation and worksite, a base salary of $119,330 would place this position at wage Level III. That figure is within the posted range, and I'd like to target it. This role classifies under "Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers" for prevailing-wage purposes.
DOL prevailing wage, 2026-27 wage year · Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers (15-1253) · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA. Wage level is derived by USCIS from the offered wage, occupation and worksite; the occupation shown is inferred from the job title.
Employer immigration record
from this employer's Department of Labor filings
Files H-1B transfers
Sourced from Department of Labor LCA, PERM and prevailing-wage disclosure data. Employer matching is by name, so figures may be split across an employer's legal entities. Absence of a filing means none appears in our copy of the data, not that none exists.
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About the role
- Next, Haven-1 is expected to become the world's first commercial space station when it launches in 2027, followed by additional Haven modules.
- Additionally, the company recently announced Vast Satellite, a high-power satellite product line leveraging its space station components and the heritage of Haven Demo.
- Vast is looking for a Solar Array Test Engineer.
Responsibilities
- Own the qualification program for non-space-heritage (terrestrial/COTS) photovoltaic cell technologies for space use
- Develop, author, and maintain test plans, procedures, and reports for solar array hardware at the coupon, panel, wing, and system levels
- Analyze test data, document results, identify anomalies, and lead troubleshooting and root cause investigations when test failures occur
- Collaborate with solar array design, structures, thermal, power electronics, and mission assurance engineers to ensure test campaigns provide comprehensive design verification
- Support the development and buildout of internal test capabilities, fixturing, and ground support equipment (GSE) for solar array testing
- Present test readiness reviews, test results, and lessons learned at design reviews and to cross-functional stakeholders
- Author and maintain verification documentation through the product's design lifecycle
Requirements
- Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, materials engineering, physics, or related engineering discipline
- 5+ years of experience in hardware testing for satellites, spacecraft, or high-reliability aerospace systems
- Familiarity with data acquisition systems, instrumentation (thermocouples, strain gauges, accelerometers, LVDTs), and test automation
- Working knowledge of photovoltaic device physics and space-environment degradation mechanisms
- Proficiency with data analysis and visualization tools such as MATLAB, Python, or equivalent
- 8+ years of experience in test engineering for satellite or spacecraft programs, with direct solar array or deployable structure test experience
- Experience executing test campaigns in compliance with SMC-S-016, AIAA S112, AIAA S-111, or equivalent military/NASA environmental test standards (e.g., GEVS, MIL-STD-1540)
Nice to have
- Preferred Skills & Experience:
Skills
- Experience with solar cell or photovoltaic module electrical characterization, including flash testing, IV curve analysis, and EL inspection
- Direct experience with solar cell radiation degradation testing (proton/electron irradiation) and EOL performance prediction
- Experience with AM0 solar simulator calibration
- Experience qualifying a non-space-heritage or COTS component/material for spaceflight use
- Experience at a vertically integrated satellite company or fast-paced aerospace startup with high personal touch-time on hardware
Compensation
- $112,340 - $230,472 USD
- We calibrate level and compensation to the selected candidate's experience and demonstrated capability.
- Base salary will vary depending on job-related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand.
- Salary is just one component of our comprehensive compensation package.
Benefits
- Base salary will vary depending on job-related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand.
Equal opportunity
- Vast is an Equal Opportunity Employer
- employment with Vast is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
- Vast is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Vast is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
This listing is sourced directly from VAST Data's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.