Director, Mission Engineering & Management

The role

This person will own program and mission execution for a new constellation-ready spacecraft bus product line. They will manage schedules, requirements, budgets, customer relationships, and launch campaign planning.

What you will do

• Own and maintain the integrated master schedule, critical path analysis, and milestone tracking
• Own system-level requirements and flow them down to subsystem teams
• Own system budget closure against mission and customer requirements
• Represent the customer and mission perspective within engineering
• Manage customer interface including payload requirements and ICD negotiations
• Manage the satellite manifest, build order, and configuration tracking
• Negotiate launch contracts and manage the launch vehicle provider relationship
• Plan and coordinate the launch campaign including site logistics and range compliance
• Plan facility readiness for engineering offices, labs, and manufacturing floors
• Track risks, action items, and review close-out across design reviews

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline
• 8+ years of engineering experience in aerospace or defense
• 3+ years of program management, mission engineering, or systems engineering leadership experience
• Experience running satellite or complex hardware delivery programs
• Strong systems engineering background
• Experience managing multi-unit builds
• Managed customer and launch vehicle provider relationships
• Comfortable with fast-paced, lean programs
• Strong written and verbal communication

Nice to have

• Able to obtain a security clearance
• Launch campaign experience (any launch provider)
• Payload accommodation and ICD negotiation experience across multiple customer types
• Experience with launch site facility operations

Benefits

• company equity
• 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
• snacks, drip coffee & onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge
• lunch subsidized

About the company

Vast is developing next-generation space stations and space infrastructure. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, the company has more than 1,000 employees.