Technical Project Manager

Vast • Long Beach, CA

3h • $164,900 - $197,880 • 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 Technical Project Manager, reporting to the Staff Technical Project Manager, Satellites, to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of human-rated space stations. This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.
As Vast expands into high-power satellite buses, we need to execute with discipline. As our TPM, you'll be the engine behind cross-subsystem coordination — tracking action items, managing dependencies, owning the risk register, and making sure the right people have the right information to keep commitments. You'll work across every engineering subsystem and be deeply embedded in the program office, with the technical credibility to engage with engineers and the execution mindset to keep things moving.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, or related technical field
• 3+ years of experience managing cross-functional hardware development programs or projects
• Demonstrated proficiency with project tracking tools (JIRA, Smartsheet, Confluence, MS Project, or equivalent)
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple concurrent workstreams without dropping threads
• Technical background sufficient to engage with engineers on hardware development topics

Nice To Haves

• Demonstrated proficiency leading and executing a large satellite space program
• 3+ years of experience as a supporting engineer on a development program
• PMP certification
• Experience in aerospace, defense, or spacecraft hardware development
• Familiarity with satellite subsystems and spacecraft development lifecycle
• Exposure to EVMS and formal program reviews (PDR, CDR, etc.)
• Experience building PM processes at a startup or scaling organization
• Logical and strategic approach to solving problems
• 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.

Responsibilities

• Own the program action item tracker and drive closure across all engineering subsystems and cross-functional partners
• Facilitate and lead recurring program execution meetings (weekly status, risk reviews, milestone look-aheads);publish clear meeting notes and follow-ups
• Maintain the program risk register; track mitigation actions and escalate unresolved risks to program leadership
• Manage cross-subsystem dependencies and surface conflicts before they impact the schedule
• Support milestone and program review readiness (SRR, PDR, CDR, MRR, TRR) — coordinate inputs, track open items, and ensure artifacts are delivered on time
• Collaborate with the Master Scheduler to ensure execution status is reflected in the IMS
• Produce concise, accurate program status reports for internal leadership and external stakeholders
• Identify process gaps and build lightweight, repeatable project management infrastructure as the program scales

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
• other discounts and perks
• exceptional food perks, with snacks, drip coffee & onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge
• lunch subsidized

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level