Senior Software Engineer, Ground Software

Senior Software Engineer, Ground Software

Long Beach, California, United States

At Vast, our mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space. We are building artificial gravity space stations, allowing long‑term stays in space without the adverse effects of zero‑gravity. Our initial crewed space habitat will be Haven‑1, scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station when it launches into low‑Earth orbit in 2026.

It is part of our stepping‑stone approach to continuous human presence in LEO. 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 Senior Software Engineer, Ground Software
, reporting to a Senior Manager, Ground 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.

As a software engineer on our growing team, you’ll have an opportunity to learn and grow under the mentorship of seasoned engineers from aerospace and big tech, building powerful software that helps expand humanity into space.

• Work with team to design and implement web applications using modern frontends and application servers, consuming APIs and micro‑services in a heterogeneous environment.
• Design and implement backends including data modeling, APIs, and supporting pipelines.
• Rapidly iterate on tooling and design new applications as the company grows.
• Influence and adopt software practices and patterns that will scale to what will eventually become a large codebase and team.

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, math, or other engineering discipline.
• 6+ years of software development or relevant industry experience.
• Experience building, shipping, and supporting complex, data‑intensive full‑stack software applications.

• Experience working on ambiguous problems.
• Production Dev Ops experience (Docker and Kubernetes preferred).
• Experience working with multiple programming languages.
• Experience working with time series data and databases.
• Experience with CAD software and hardware engineering processes.
• Experience with API design.
• Experience with one or more of the following platforms and frameworks:
  React, Vue, NextJS, Graph
  
  QL, OAuth, Terraform, Postgre
  
  SQL, MySQL, SQL Server.

Pay range: $155,000 - $190,000 USD (California). Base salary will vary depending on job‑related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand. Salary is just one component of our comprehensive compensation package. Full‑time employees also receive company equity and do not have to pay for medical, dental, and vision coverage. Employees receive 10 days of vacation for non‑exempt staff, paid parental leave, short‑ and long‑term disability insurance, life insurance, 401(k) retirement plan, One Medical membership, Class Pass credits, personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health, and other discounts and perks.

Snacks, drip coffee, cold drinks, and dinner meals remain free. Lunch is subsidized.

Vast is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment with Vast is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

The hired candidate must be a U.S. person or otherwise compliant with U.S. export regulations, as required for access to controlled information.