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Mission Manager, Payloads and Cargo

Long Beach, California, United States

At Vast, our mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space. We are building artificial gravity space stations, allowing long-term stays in space without the adverse effects of zero-gravity. Our initial crewed space habitat will be Haven-1, scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station when it launches into low earth orbit in May 2026. Our team is all-in, committed to executing our mission safely and on time. If you want to work with the most talented people on Earth furthering space exploration for humanity, come join us.

Mission Manager, Payloads and Cargo

Vast is looking for a Mission Manager, Payloads and Cargo, reporting to the VP of Space Station Engineering, to support the technical and program management execution of Vast’s customers and programs involving human spaceflight.

This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location. 

Responsibilities: 

  • Manage entire payload life cycle including integration, launch, and operation of customer pressurized payloads to low earth orbital destinations, being personally responsible for end-to-end mission success (contract award through on-orbit operation)
  • Support the development and execution of hands-on procedures for integrating customer payloads into Vast space stations and cargo/crew transport vehicles in preparation for launch
  • Act as the technical subject matter expert for the Haven-1 payload rack and future payload accommodations on Haven-2
  • Draft and own Interface Control Documents (ICD) defining all interface requirements between the customer payload and the Vast space station and operations
  • Support the development of novel ground support equipment and related procedures to be used with customer hardware for pre-flight verification of interface requirements (e.g. mechanical fit, environmental testing, thermal checks, etc.)
  • Act as the primary point of contact for Vast customers to ensure mission requirements are met in a time- and cost-effective fashion 
  • Create and maintain overall project schedules with a focus on meeting customer contractual milestones and deliverables
  • Work with the customer to mitigate and resolve technical and programmatic issues as they arise 
  • Interface with internal engineering, management, and production teams to ensure on-time execution of the mission while meeting all customer requirements
  • Work closely with the Business Development team to provide pre-sales engineering support including supporting customer meeting, proposal writing, and contract negotiation efforts 

Minimum Qualifications:

  • Bachelor's degree in an engineering, science, or other technical discipline
  • 5+ years of experience with systems engineering, technical project management, or customer facing project management  in the space or aerospace industry 

Preferred Skills & Experience:

  • Experience with human spaceflight missions, in particular payloads flown to the International Space Station (strongly preferred) 
  • Working experience with leading U.S.-based launch suppliers and launch integration campaigns
  • Familiarity with writing and negotiating an Interface Control Document (ICD) with an external party
  • Experience acting as the primary interface of a company and/or program to an external customer or stakeholder and able to interface with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
  • Ability to articulate complex technical ideas clearly, concisely, and consistently in both written and verbal communications
  • Highly detail-oriented and able to multitask in a dynamic environment with shifting priorities and changing requirements

Additional Requirements:

  • Ability to travel up to 20% of the time
  • Willingness to work evenings and/or weekends to support critical mission milestones

Salary Range: California

$115,000 - $200,000 USD

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
 
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. Full-time employees also receive company equity, as well as access to a full suite of compelling benefits and perks, including: 100% medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, flexible paid time off for exempt staff and up to 10 days of vacation for non-exempt staff, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, One Medical membership, ClassPass credits, personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health, and other discounts and perks.We also take pride in offering exceptional food perks, with snacks, drip coffee, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge, and lunch subsidized as part of Vast’s ongoing commitment to providing high-quality meals for employees.

U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS

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.
 

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.

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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 be considered for deemed export licensing. To assist Vast in assessing its export compliance obligations in relation to your application, please identify which ITAR/EAR status applies to you:

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