Director, Satellite Engineering

At Vast, our mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space. Vast is developing next-generation space stations 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. Using an incremental, hardware-rich and low-cost approach, Vast is rapidly developing its multi-module Haven Station. 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, followed by additional Haven modules to enable permanent human presence by 2030. 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. Vast is seeking an experienced Director, Satellite Engineering t o lead development of a new constellation-ready 15kW spacecraft bus — a product line designed to scale to hundreds of spacecraft per year. Our first mission is a 10-satellite demo launch with customers spanning communications constellations, on-orbit compute, and scientific observation.  We're developing a new constellation-ready 15kW spacecraft bus — a product line designed to scale to hundreds of spacecraft per year. Our first mission is a 10-satellite demo launch in Q4 2027, with customers spanning communications constellations, on-orbit compute, and scientific observation. This is the engineering leadership role for that product line. You'll own the technical execution of the spacecraft bus — managing discipline leads across electronics, thermal, GNC, power, structures, and flight software, and delivering flight hardware on schedule. This role carries Chief Engineer responsibility: you are the final technical authority on the satellite bus design. You'll make architecture decisions, run design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, MRR), and own the engineering schedule. You'll manage a growing team of subsystem leads and coordinate with existing teams in solar arrays, electric propulsion, and avionics/software. A core part of our strategy is building a mission factory — software infrastructure that dramatically reduces the time from customer contract to payload on orbit. We do this by empowering subject matter experts with AI code generation tools to build their own engineering software: custom simulation, analysis, test automation, and integration workflows, all backed by rigorous hand-calculation validation suites. This toolchain is already our primary engineering record and the foundation of how we scale. You'll champion this approach across the engineering organization. This will be a  full-time ,  exempt position located in our Long Beach location.  Responsibilities:  Own technical authority for the satellite bus design — architecture decisions, make/buy, test philosophy Manage and grow the engineering team: electronics, thermal, GNC, power, structures, flight software, simulation Drive the engineering schedule — all avionics box development timelines hit their marks Run design review technical content (SRR, PDR, CDR, MRR) Define the test strategy for all components and vehicle-level work — set commercial standards for acceptance, protoqual, qualification, and qualification-by-similarity across this product line Coordinate with the solar array, electric propulsion, and Haven-1 avionics/software teams Drive make/buy decisions across all subsystems Manage engineering headcount — hiring and team development Within your first 6 weeks: Understand the satellite bus design, simulation toolchain, and program schedule Establish working relationships with all subsystem leads and existing team members Take ownership of the engineering schedule and identify critical path risks Begin hiring and growing the engineering team — identify critical gaps, recruit, and build out the org with both direct and dotted-line reports Take ownership of engineering execution — coordinate across the organization and drive the program toward PDR Minimum Qualifications: Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline 10+ years of engineering experience in aerospace or other hardware-intensive industries 5+ years of engineering management experience leading multidisciplinary teams Experience leading spacecraft or complex hardware development programs from design through environmental test and delivery Managed teams of 10+ engineers across multiple disciplines (EE, mechanical, thermal, GNC, software) Comfortable as technical authority — you can make architecture-level trade decisions across subsystems, not just manage process Experience with fast-paced, small-team hardware development — startup, new space, or skunkworks environments preferred Familiar with the full box development lifecycle: design, prototype, environmental test, CDR, flight build, ATP/QTP Comfortable with AI-assisted engineering tools and workflows Strong opinion on how to run a lean, effective hardware development program Preferred Skills & Experience: Able to obtain a security clearance Experience with CMG or reaction wheel development Medium-lift launch vehicle integration experience Experience delivering multi-satellite builds (constellation or batch production) Background in avionics, power systems, or ADCS Pay Range: California $188,600 — $267,720 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 s