Director, Loads & Dynamics

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 a highly accomplished and strategic Director, Loads & Dynamics, reporting to the Vice President of Structures & Mechanical Systems, to lead and scale the Loads & Dynamics organization supporting next‑generation human‑rated space stations and spacecraft.

The ideal candidate will bring extensive technical expertise in spacecraft or launch vehicle dynamics, proven experience building and leading high‑performing engineering teams, and a track record of delivering complex aerospace programs from concept through flight operations.

This will be a full‑time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.

• Lead, scale, and develop the Loads & Dynamics organization, including multiple engineering teams and managers responsible for low‑ and high‑frequency loads and environment predictions across all spacecraft programs and product lines.
• Define and execute the long‑term technical strategy and roadmap for the Loads & Dynamics discipline, aligned with company objectives, program milestones, and business growth plans.
• Own department‑level budget, headcount planning, capital investments, and resource allocation decisions to support current and future program needs.
• Drive execution excellence across the full product lifecycle, including concept development, requirements definition, analysis, testing, verification, qualification, flight support, and on‑orbit operations.
• Establish and maintain system‑level dynamic models, load cases, environments, and methodologies to support spacecraft design, integration, certification, and operations across multiple vehicle programs.
• Define internal loads and environmental requirements derived from system‑level requirements, including quasi‑static, random vibration, shock, and acoustic environments.
• Provide technical authority and oversight for vibration and shock requirement tailoring, test planning, and qualification verification activities across all programs.
• Lead the development, correlation, and continuous improvement of finite element and dynamic prediction models using test data, flight data, and lessons learned.
• Establish standardized post‑processing tools, methodologies, and best practices for dynamic analyses, test data reduction, and high‑speed data processing across teams.
• Oversee assessment of vendor and supplier hardware capabilities against internally generated dynamic predictions and qualification requirements.
• Partner with senior leadership across Structures, Propulsion, Thermal, Avionics, GNC, Manufacturing, Test, Systems Engineering, and Program Management to ensure integrated vehicle performance and successful hardware delivery.
• Lead and oversee technical reviews, design trades, failure investigations, root cause analyses, and corrective action efforts related to dynamic environments and structural performance.
• Provide executive‑level technical leadership for spacecraft qualification activities, including vibration, modal, acoustic, and shock testing campaigns.
• Establish organizational priorities, staffing strategies, succession plans, and capability development initiatives to build a world‑class Loads & Dynamics team.
• Serve as technical authority and risk…