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 Staff Software Engineer, iOS, reporting to the Director, Ground Segment & Mission Operations, 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 an iOS software engineer you will be the responsible engineer for the design, build, and testing of iOS native applications written in Swift to power crew user interfaces operating in Low Earth Orbit aboard Haven-1. You will shepherd the project through the full Software Development Lifecycle as the original author of the app. In your day-to-day you will collaborate with the UX design, flight software, and avionics teams to ensure the app functions reliably and meets the required objectives. Join us for the unique opportunity to write apps that fly in space.
Responsibilities:
- Develop new and optimize existing software codebases and systems which will be used to power crew devices on the Vast family of spacecraft.
- Mentor junior software engineers to help build a strong and capable team.
- Own the lifecycle of software, including rolling out to operations, managing configurations, maintaining and upgrading, and supporting end-users.
- Configure and optimize automated testing and deployment systems.
- Ensure software quality and reliability through testing, clean-code, and attention to software security.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Informatics, Human-Centered Design & Engineering or other engineering discipline.
- 7+ years experience writing software.
- 4+ years experience writing iOS applications (Objective-C/C++ & Swift).
Preferred Skills & Experience:
- Experience writing applications shipped and used by millions of users.
- Proficiency using the command line, writing shell scripts, and an understanding of the GNU/Linux operating system.
- Experience coding in C and C++ and integrating that code into iOS applications.
- Experience building applications in the cloud.
- Enjoys end-user facing roles and interfacing with cross-functional teams.
- Ability to work quickly and accurately in fast-paced environment during critical launch and mission operations.
- Excellent communicator, both written and verbal.
- Familiarity with Git.
- Collaborative mindset.
- Problem solver with a bias for action.
Additional Requirements:
- Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones.
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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