Vast
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Staff Flight Software Engineer
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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 looking for a Staff Flight Software Engineer, reporting to Senior Manager, Flight Software, to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations.
This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.
You will develop fault-tolerant code for safety-critical systems, and work closely with the avionics team to integrate flight code with avionics hardware. Most importantly, you will work as part of a team that believes that finding and fixing errors is a positive experience that will make everyone’s work better, and makes the team stronger as we continuously improve our processes and products.
Responsibilities:
- Work with the Flight Software team to create highly reliable flight software for all Haven missions
- Work cross functionally with all other disciplines GNC, Thermal, Propulsion, Power, and ECLSS to support algorithm implementation and integration into the flight software
- Assess and critique code, ensuring adherence to best practices and established standards, in code reviews
- Develop driver-level code to interface with radios, sensors, and actuators onboard for all Haven missions
- Develop and maintain the Telemetry and Commanding Systems which will be used to communicate with our vehicles
- Develop unit and integrated tests, and establish continuous integration framework for flight
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering or other engineering discipline
- 10+ years of experience coding in C++
Preferred Qualifications:
- Fault-tolerant and safety-critical software design
- Experience developing software for complex systems such as spacecraft, aircraft or autonomous vehicles
- Experience working in a continuous build and test environment
- Experience with Embedded Systems
- Experience working with satellite communications or telemetry systems
- Hands-on experience with serial protocols such as UART, CAN, I2C, SPI, and/or Ethernet (TCP/UDP)
- Understanding of Linux kernel software and drivers
- Network programming experience
- Familiarity with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and digital multimeters
- Familiarity with the Atlassian Suite (JIRA, Bitbucket, Confluence)
- Familiarity with Git, Cmake, and GNU tools
- Able to work in a Linux environment
Additional Requirements:
- Willingness to work evenings and/or weekends to support critical mission milestones
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
Ready to apply?
Apply to Vast
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 looking for a Principal Product Engineer, reporting to the Senior Director, Mission Software, to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations.
This individual is responsible for the success of onboard crew applications, ground-based mission control software, and historical data review and analysis tools. This role requires strong product judgment, a high standard of craft, and excellent collaboration skills. This person will own product direction and work closely with UX and engineering partners to ensure complex problems are translated into clear, well-prioritized, and high-quality software solutions.
This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.
Responsibilities:
- Own the product roadmap derived from input from users, design, and engineering.
- Remain hands-on in the codebase every day, delivering customer-facing features and infrastructure improvements across onboard crew apps, mission control, and data review tooling.
- Acquire deep understanding of user problems and goals.
- Gather and evaluate user requirements in collaboration with engineers, designers, mission operations, and crew stakeholders.
- Partner closely with UX designers to shape user experiences and review concepts, prototypes, and designs.
- Collaborate with other software engineers to evaluate tradeoffs, scope work, and drive successful delivery.
- Prototype software user experiences and gather feedback from astronauts, mission operators, and engineers with an emphasis on rapid iteration.
- Employ data-driven decision making to inform the product roadmap and development priorities.
- Ensure product decisions reflect a high standard of craft, usability, reliability, and mission readiness.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, software engineering, informatics, human centered design, or other STEM discipline; OR 12+ years of professional experience.
- 10+ years of professional experience in software engineering with demonstrated product ownership responsibilities.
- Full-stack experience with relevant technologies – e.g. Golang or similar, React / Next.js or similar, experience with databases is a bonus.
Preferred Skills & Experience:
- Experience founding or working at an early-stage startup with responsibility for achieving product-market fit.
- Experience taking a product from 0-1 as a technical product lead or a founder.
- Experience juggling multiple projects.
- Experience with UI/UX design software (Figma, Adobe XD) and/or GenAI driven prototype generation.
- Excellent organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to build trust with stakeholders.
- Ability to work effectively in a team environment.
- Ability to make independent judgments with limited information.
- High standards for quality, usability, and execution.
- Logical and strategic approach to solving problems.
- Portfolio showcasing projects with clear product ownership involvement.
- Comfortable working in a high-stress environment balancing several projects at any given time, and the flexibility to adjust for abrupt changes in strategic direction.
Additional Requirements:
- Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones.
- Ability to travel up to 10% to support launch campaigns.
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
Ready to apply?
Apply to Vast
Staff Software Engineer, Mission Software
Share this job
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 looking for a Staff Software Engineer, reporting to the Senior Software Manager, to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations.
This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.
Responsibilities:
- Develop new and optimize existing software codebases and systems which will be used to test, command, and monitor the Vast family of spacecraft
- Mentor junior ground software engineers to help build a strong and capable team
- Own the lifecycle of software, including rolling out to operations, managing configurations, maintaining and upgrading, and supporting end-users
- Configure and optimize automated testing and deployment systems
- Maintain and upgrade the ground systems that control our test sites and communicate with our spacecraft at the launch site and on orbit
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, or STEM discipline; OR 9+ years of professional experience as a software engineer
- 7+ years experience writing full-stack web applications
- Experience writing and securing REST APIs
- Experience with database design, implementation, and security
Preferred Skills & Experience:
- Proficiency using the command line, writing shell scripts, and an understanding of the GNU/Linux operating system
- Experience building applications in the cloud
- Enjoys end-user facing roles for support and interfacing with cross-functional teams
- Ability to work quickly and accurately in fast-paced environment during critical launch and mission operations
- Excellent communicator, both written and verbal
- Familiarity with Git
- Collaborative mindset
- Problem solver with a bias for action
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
Ready to apply?
Apply to Vast