{"id":2620881,"url":"https://alion.io/job/vastspace-director-mission-engineering-management","title":"Director, Mission Engineering & Management","company":{"id":185145,"name":"Vast Space","domain":"vastspace.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/vastspace","size_band":"501-1000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":84,"open_postings":61,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.623,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":47,"computed_at":"2026-10-23T05:54:15Z"}},"role":"Leadership","role_family":"Leadership","seniority":"head","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Long Beach, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":188600,"max":267720,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":267720},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":8,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Digital Twin","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-06-04T04:12:14Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-20","last_verified_at":"2026-10-24T02:00:41Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":141,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":0,"flags":[],"days_open":141},"description":"Vast is developing next-generation space stations and space infrastructure using an incremental, hardware-rich, and low-cost approach. Vast is rapidly developing its multi-module Haven Station to ensure a continuous human presence in space for America and its allies, enabling advanced microgravity research and manufacturing, and unlocking a new space economy for government, corporate, and private customers. Haven Demo’s 2025 success made Vast the only operational commercial space station company to fly and operate its own spacecraft. 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.\nHeadquartered inLong Beach, California, and with more than 1,000 employees and over a billion dollars in private capital, Vast has built the facilities required to manufacture and operate America’s next space station. The company plans to develop future habitats and systems for the Moon and Mars, dedicated space stations for government partners, and other crewed systems that will unlock the expanding long-term space economy.\nVast is seeking a Director, Mission Engineering & Management to own program and mission execution for a new constellation-ready spacecraft bus product line. Our first mission is a 10-satellite demo launch - the plan is to scale to hundreds of spacecraft per year.\nWe're developing a new constellation-ready 15kW spacecraft bus, with our first mission being a 10-satellite demo launch in Q4 2027 - multiple customer payloads, and a product line designed to scale to hundreds of spacecraft per year. This role owns the program and mission execution side: schedule, requirements, budgets, customer relationships, and launch campaign planning. You're the counterpart to the Director of Engineering - they deliver the hardware, you deliver the mission.\nBetween the two of you, systems engineering is covered. You own system-level requirements and interfaces, and you own whether engineering's bottoms-up budgets close against what the mission demands. You're the internal voice of the customer - pressure-testing engineering decisions against requirements, then representing the program to customers with well-formed positions. You manage the program schedule, track critical path, and keep customers aligned. You're the person who knows whether the program is on track and what to do when it isn't. You're also the technical counterpart to business development - when we pursue new missions, you ensure what we sign up to is executable before we commit.\nThis is a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.\nResponsibilities: \nOwn and maintain the integrated master schedule (IMS), critical path analysis, and milestone tracking\nOwn system-level requirements - capture in the digital twin toolchain, flow down to subsystem teams\nOwn system budget closure against mission and customer requirements - engineering maintains the bottoms-up budgets (mass, power, data, link), you own whether they close with adequate margin and drive resolution when they don't\nRepresent the customer and mission perspective within engineering - challenge system trades and design decisions against requirements, build consensus with the engineering team, and bring well-formed positions to customer negotiations\nManage customer interface - payload requirements, ICD negotiations, and schedule alignment across all manifest slots\nManage the satellite manifest - which sat gets which payload, build order, configuration tracking\nNegotiate launch contracts and manage the launch vehicle provider relationship\nPlan and coordinate the launch campaign - launch site logistics, range compliance, satellite shipping and stacking sequence\nPlan facility readiness - engineering offices, avionics lab, manufacturing floor, clean room, TVAC, vibe, integration bay\nTrack risks, action items, and review close-out across all design reviews\nManage L-minus milestone tracking (L-180 through L-14)\nCoordinate spectrum licensing for confirmed and TBD customer payloads\nOwn status reporting - weekly cadence, management visibility\nPartner with business development as the technical counterpart on proposals and new business - ensure what we sign up to is executable before we commit\nTrack vendor delivery schedules with the procurement lead\nWithin your first 6 weeks:\nBaseline the IMS and critical path with the Director of Engineering\nEstablish customer relationships and understand payload requirements status for all 10 manifest slots (6 confirmed, 4 TBD)\nTake ownership of system budgets and identify any that aren't closed with margin\nUnderstand the facility planning timeline and flag any gaps\nTake ownership of program execution - drive schedule, customer relationships, and cross-functional coordination\nMinimum Qualifications:\nBachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline\n8+ years of engineering experience in aerospace or defense\n3+ years of program management, mission engineering, or systems engineering leadership experience\nExperience running satellite or complex hardware delivery programs - schedule, cost, customer management\nStrong systems engineering background - you can own requirements, budgets, and interfaces, not just track them\nExperience managing multi-unit builds (constellation, batch production, or similar)\nManaged customer and launch vehicle provider relationships\nComfortable with fast-paced, lean programs - you're the kind of person who runs the schedule in a spreadsheet before the formal tools are set up\nStrong written and verbal communication - you'll represent the program to customers and leadership\nPreferred Skills & Experience:\nAble to obtain a security clearance\nLaunch campaign experience (any launch provider)\nPayload accommodation and ICD negotiation experience across multiple customer types\nExperience with launch site facility operations\nSpectrum licensing and regulatory coordination\nPay Range: California\n$188,600—$267,720 USD\nWe calibrate level and compensation to the selected candidate's experience and demonstrated capability. We welcome applicants across a range of experience levels to apply.\nCOMPENSATION AND BENEFITS\n\nBase 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: medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, generous paid time off; up to 20+ days of vacation for exempt staff and up to 10+ days of vacation for non-exempt staff with the ability to cash-out unused vacation annually, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, 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 & onsite barista, 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.\n\nU.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS\n 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.\nEQUAL OPPORTUNITY\nVast 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.","description_format":"text","description_chars":8302,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":8,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Equity","Life insurance","Parental leave","Retirement plans"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Manufacturing","Space & Aerospace","Aerospace Manufacturing","Satellite Manufacturing"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-15T13:23:20Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":13,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.457,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":141,"expected_fill_days":47,"reasons":["conf:2","stale_co","velocity","win:tail","crowd:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-23T05:54:15Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":267720,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/vastspace-director-mission-engineering-management","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/vastspace-director-mission-engineering-management.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-24T03:38:01Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":5716,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-25T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":185145},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=185145"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fvastspace-director-mission-engineering-management"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fvastspace-director-mission-engineering-management"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fvastspace-director-mission-engineering-management"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/vastspace-director-mission-engineering-management\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fvastspace-director-mission-engineering-management"}]}