Director, Satellite Business Development & Commercialization - Domestic

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 Director, Satellite Business Development - Domestic (US), reporting to the SVP, Satellite Business Development & Commercialization
, to lead commercial business development (communications, Earth observation, sensing, and in-orbit compute applications) for Vast Satellites in the United States. This role will lead customer engagement, opportunity development, capture strategy, and partnership efforts - including teaming with commercial primes - that advance Vast's initiatives to develop, manufacture, and operate advanced satellite bus platforms.

Vast maintains a dedicated National Security team that engages the US Government directly; this role owns the US commercial market and partners closely with that team where government programs route through commercial primes. This is a small, senior founding commercial team: the role demands both business development "hunter" instincts (creating markets and demand where none exist yet) and proven "closer" skills (negotiating and executing contracts from single-digit millions to hundreds of millions of dollars).

This will be a full-time, exempt position based in Long Beach, CA
, with remote US considered on an exception-basis.

• Develop and execute a comprehensive US commercial market strategy across satellite communications, Earth observation, sensing, and in-orbit compute, aligned with Vast's business objectives.
• Build and maintain a market and competitive intelligence view across US commercial space customers and merchant-bus competitors, distinguishing Vast's positioning in each vertical.
• Lead internal planning for opportunity prioritization, capture strategy, and pipeline development across the US commercial market.
• Lead customer engagement across opportunity identification, mission scoping, capability briefings, and early concept development with US constellation operators, Earth observation companies, and commercial primes.
• Develop and manage teaming relationships with commercial primes (e.g., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, L3
  
  Harris), working jointly with Vast's National Security team where programs involve US Government end customers.
• Leverage a strong, pre-existing senior-level network across the US space value chain to open doors with potential customers and identify competitive threats early.
• Lead proposal development and coordinate cross-functional contributions from engineering, program management, finance, legal, and…