Senior Manager, Demand Planning

Vast•Long Beach, CA

2h•$136,940 - $194,388•Onsite

About The Position

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. Headquartered in Long 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. Vast is looking for a Senior Manager, Demand Planning to lead and scale the Demand Planning organization supporting the development and production of our next-generation human-rated space stations. This role will own the strategy, organization, processes, systems, and operating rhythms that translate engineering and program requirements into executable demand signals across procurement, inventory, and manufacturing. The Senior Manager will be accountable for material planning strategy and readiness across multiple programs and builds, ensuring leadership has clear visibility into material requirements, shortages, inventory risk, planning accuracy, and readiness against critical program milestones. The ideal candidate combines deep MRP and material planning expertise with strong organizational leadership, systems thinking, and the ability to build and scale planning capabilities in a fast-paced engineering and manufacturing environment. This leader will serve as a key Supply Chain partner to Engineering, Manufacturing, Procurement, Inventory, Finance, and Program leadership, driving alignment and decisions that enable program execution.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Operations, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience
8+ years of experience in demand planning, material planning, production planning, supply chain, operations, or a related function
3+ years of experience leading and developing teams in a complex manufacturing or hardware environment
Demonstrated experience building, scaling, or significantly maturing a demand planning, material planning, or related supply chain function
Deep experience with MRP, BOMs, inventory planning, material requirements, shortage management, and material readiness in a manufacturing environment
Experience establishing planning strategies, operating rhythms, KPIs, and governance across multiple programs, products, or production builds
Demonstrated ability to identify systemic planning and material risks and drive cross-functional teams toward resolution
Experience partnering with senior leaders across Engineering, Procurement, Manufacturing, Inventory, Supply Chain, and/or Program Management
Strong analytical and systems-thinking capabilities with the ability to translate complex data into clear business decisions and actions
Strong executive communication and influencing skills with demonstrated ability to drive alignment across multiple levels and functions of an organization

Nice To Haves

Experience in aerospace, defense, spaceflight, automotive, or high-growth hardware manufacturing
Experience leading demand or material planning for complex aerospace development, qualification, and production programs
Experience managing planning organizations supporting multiple products, programs, or production builds simultaneously
Advanced experience with MRP, ERP, MES, PLM, and manufacturing planning systems
Deep understanding of BOM management, engineering change management, master data, inventory optimization, material readiness, and production planning
Experience defining and implementing planning system architecture, reporting, analytics, and automation
Demonstrated success building or transforming a planning organization during rapid company or production growth
Experience developing organizational structures, hiring plans, career frameworks, and planning talent
Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment while balancing immediate program execution with long-term organizational scalability

Responsibilities

Lead, develop, and scale the Demand Planning organization, establishing functional scope, priorities, performance expectations, and long-term capability needs
Define and own the Demand Planning and sparing strategy across development and production programs, ensuring material plans support program schedules, build priorities, and business objectives
Own the end-to-end demand planning framework that translates engineering, program, and production requirements into executable planning signals demand across procurement, inventory, and manufacturing strategies for inventory optimization and master data management
Establish enterprise planning strategies and operating rhythms for demand aggregation, BOM analysis, MRP runs, program schedule reviews, shortage management, material readiness, and inventory planning across multiple programs and builds
Partner with Engineering, Procurement, Manufacturing, Inventory, and Program leadership to identify material risks, establish priorities, and drive risk abatement against critical program milestones
Define and drive Demand Planning KPIs, dashboards, and executive-level business reviews that provide clear visibility into material readiness, planning accuracy, inventory health, and program risk
Lead the evolution of MRP, master data, planning systems, automation, and business processes to improve accuracy, scalability, visibility, and execution speed
Serve as the escalation point for significant material and planning risks, driving cross-functional recovery strategies when supply threatens critical program milestones
Build scalable processes, tools, standards, and training that strengthen planning discipline and improve how Engineering, Manufacturing, Programs, and Supply Chain operate together
Develop the organizational roadmap for Demand Planning, including talent strategy, systems capabilities, process maturity, and future resource requirements as Vast scales development and production