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Vast · 5 hours ago

Head of Mission Management

Long Beach, California, United States

Full-time

Onsite

Director/Executive

$250K/yr - $350K/yr

10+ years exp

Vast is a company dedicated to advancing space exploration by building artificial gravity space stations. They are looking for a Head of Mission Management to oversee technical direction, customer experience, and program success in developing human-rated commercial space stations, including managing NASA's CLD program and ensuring mission certification processes are met.

Defense & Space

Culture & Values

No H1B

U.S. Citizen Only

Responsibilities

Lead a team of mission managers responsible for crew, payload, & transportation provider contract execution and integration of teams across the company to achieve mission and program needs

Responsible for all missions achieving human certification requirements

Serve as the primary technical interface to customers such as NASA and major stakeholders, leading reviews and presenting mission designs, trade studies, risks, and program recommendations. Accountable for customer happiness and success throughout the program life cycle

Lead all aspects of NASA’s Commercial LEO Destinations program execution including capture, proposal development, contract award, verification, certification, integration, test, and flight operations

Oversee end-to-end delivery of crewed and payload missions, including providing technical pre-sales support, customer onboarding, mission unique requirement accommodation, training, launch, on-orbit operations, return, rehabilitation, and all ICD development and control

Own and execute the human certification process ensuring all teams achieve the rigorous standards necessary for human spaceflight safety

Direct development and execution of integrated mission and program schedules, ensuring all milestones, deliverables, and payment events are achieved on time

Build, mentor, and scale high-performing engineering, mission, and proposal teams, fostering clarity, prioritization, and strong decision-making across the program

Collaborate across all business functions including engineering, production, supply chain and operations to assess vehicle readiness, evaluate design trades, and manage risks that impact mission requirements and launch timelines

Ensure all customer deliverables are completed on time and in full accordance with contractual and payment milestone requirements

Qualification

Spacecraft designSystems engineeringLeadership experienceTechnical program managementProject managementCustomer interfaceMission managementCross-functional team leadership

Required

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering or a related engineering discipline

10+ years of leadership experience within space missions or spaceflight organizations

10+ years of experience in spacecraft or payload design, testing, and/or hardware delivery

Proven experience interfacing with government agencies—ideally NASA—on complex technical programs

Strong background in systems engineering or technical program management for space missions

Preferred

Ability to execute complex project management that drives a project schedule forward, while minimizing the overall impact to other engineering efforts across the company

Experience building and leading engineering and cross-functional teams

Ability to own and manage multiple concurrent development and test programs with varied timelines

Be a simplifier of topics, able to easily interact with management and team members with a focus on improving business performance. Comfortable driving team performance while balancing the needs of a fast growth tech company in a rapidly changing environment

Benefits

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

Other discounts and perks

Exceptional food perks, with snacks, drip coffee, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge

Lunch subsidized as part of Vast’s ongoing commitment to providing high-quality meals for employees

Company

Vast

Vast is developing next-generation space stations to ensure 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.

Founded in 2021

El Segundo, California, USA

501-1000 employees