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 May 2026. 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, Security, reporting to the Senior Manager, Software Engineering, to support the development and maintenance of the organization's growing cybersecurity infrastructure. 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 and secure software that helps expand humanity into space.
This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.
Responsibilities:
- Work with team to design, implement, and maintain a wide variety of backends, tools, and pipelines directly in support of Vast’s mission-critical security services
- Partner with various engineering teams to assist in the implementation and design of their security-sensitive features and services
- Collaborate with team to peer review current software and security practices and to foster an effective and positive work environment
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, math, or other engineering discipline
- 6+ years experience with building security services and configurations (i.e. IAM, short-lived certificates, API security)
- Development experience in any modern programming language (including but not limited to Python, C++, Rust, Go)
- Experience building, shipping, and supporting security applications in the cloud
- Proficiency using the command line, writing shell scripts, and an understanding of the GNU/Linux operating system
Preferred Skills & Experience:
- Experience working on ambiguous problems
- Production DevOps experience (Docker and K8s preferred)
- Experience working with multiple programming languages
- Experience with API Design
- Deep security knowledge in one or more domains
- Confident communicator, both written and verbal
- Collaborative mindset
- Problem solver with a bias for action
Additional Requirements:
- Willingness to work evenings and/or weekends to support critical mission milestones
- Ability to lift up to 25lbs unassisted
- Specific certifications, as appropriate
Pay Range:
- Senior Software Security Engineer: $150,000 - $190,000
- Staff Software Security Engineer: $183,000 - $237,000
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
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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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