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 looking for a Senior Compensation Analyst, reporting to the Senior Manager, Compensation.
This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach office.
The Senior Compensation Analyst serves as a strategic advisor to business leaders and People Business Partners, providing expert guidance on compensation philosophy, market competitiveness, internal equity, and pay decisions. This role partners closely with leaders throughout the employee lifecycle, supporting hiring, promotions, organizational changes, and annual compensation programs while ensuring consistent application of compensation policies and practices.
Responsibilities:
- Strategic Business Partnership
- Serve as the primary compensation partner for assigned business organizations.
- Consult with People Business Partners and leaders on compensation strategy, pay decisions, promotions, and company initiatives.
- Influence leaders through data-driven insights and sound compensation practices.
Compensation Programs
- Lead compensation planning activities including merit increases, promotions, equity planning, market adjustments, and off-cycle compensation reviews.
- Review and approve salary offers, promotions, internal mobility, and other compensation changes.
- Leads or participates in special projects
- Build and maintain modeling, costing, and budget analyses to support decisions.
Market Pricing & Job Architecture
- Conduct market pricing using salary survey data and compensation benchmarking tools to evaluate the competitiveness of employee compensation.
- Participate annually in compensation surveys to collect and analyze market data, supporting compensation planning and ensuring alignment with industry trends and organizational pay strategies.
Compensation Governance
- Ensure compliance with compensation philosophy, policies, and applicable regulations.
- Identify compensation risks and recommend mitigation strategies.
- Maintain data integrity within compensation systems.
Minimum Qualifications:
- 8+ Years of progressive compensation experience
- Strong knowledge of compensation principles including:
- Salary structures
- Market pricing
- Job evaluation
- Advanced Excel or Google skills with experience analyzing large data sets.
- Experience with compensation planning systems and HRIS platforms.
- Analytical mindset with experience using data to provide business recommendations, problem-solving, and presentation skills.
- Excellent consulting and stakeholder management abilities.
Preferred Skills & Experience:
- Bachelor's degree in human resources, business administration, or related field.
- Certified Compensation Professional (CCP).
- Experience supporting engineering, aerospace, technology, or manufacturing organizations.
- Experience with market survey providers (Aon, Mercer, Radford, WTW, etc.).
- Experience with compensation platforms such as Pave, or similar systems.
- Proven track record of leading projects and driving process improvements
- Analytical mindset with experience using data to inform decisions
- Ability to operate both strategically and hands-on in a fast-paced environment
Additional Requirements:
- Ability to travel up to 10% of the time
- Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones
- Ability to lift up to 25lbs unassisted
- Specific certifications, as appropriate
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
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, as well as access to a full suite of compelling benefits and perks, including: 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, and other discounts and perks. We also take pride in offering exceptional food perks, with snacks, drip coffee & onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge, and lunch subsidized as part of Vast’s ongoing commitment to providing high-quality meals for employees.
U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS
The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore, must either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.62 or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. This status includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
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.
Skills Required
- 8+ years of progressive compensation experience
- Strong knowledge of compensation principles (salary structures, market pricing, job evaluation)
- Advanced Excel or Google Sheets skills with large data set analysis experience
- Experience with compensation planning systems and HRIS platforms
- Analytical mindset with experience using data to provide business recommendations
- Excellent consulting and stakeholder management abilities
- Ability to travel up to 10% of the time
- Willingness to work overtime or weekends to support critical mission milestones
- Ability to lift up to 25lbs unassisted
- Must be a U.S. person or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing
- Bachelor's degree in HR, business administration, or related field
- Certified Compensation Professional (CCP)
- Experience supporting engineering, aerospace, technology, or manufacturing organizations
- Experience with market survey providers (Aon, Mercer, Radford, WTW)
- Experience with compensation platforms such as Pave or similar systems
- Proven track record of leading projects and driving process improvements
Vast Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Vast and has not been reviewed or approved by Vast.
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Healthcare Strength — Company materials describe comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents from day one, alongside primary care and mental‑health programs. These provisions are repeatedly emphasized as a core part of the total rewards package.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Information highlights generous PTO with an annual cash‑out option, paid parental leave, sick time, and company holidays, with flexible PTO for exempt staff. These features indicate broad time‑off support across multiple needs.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Onsite meals and snacks, fitness memberships or stipends, and wellness resources (e.g., One Medical and Spring Health) are prominently offered. Such perks appear designed to enhance daily work experience and overall wellbeing.
Vast Insights
What We Do
Vast is developing next-generation space stations to ensure 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 in 2026, followed by additional Haven modules to enable permanent human presence by 2030. With more than 1,000 employees at its Long Beach, California headquarters and over a billion dollars in private capital invested, Vast has built the facilities required to manufacture and operate America’s next space station. The company plans to develop future habitats for the Moon and Mars, dedicated space stations for government partners, and other crewed systems that will unlock the expanding long-term space economy.
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