Senior Manager, Avionics and Power Systems Verified today

About the Role

Vast is developing next-generation space stations and space infrastructure. Haven Demo flew and operated in 2025. Haven-1 will launch in 2027 as the world's first commercial space station, followed by additional modules. Vast Satellite is a new high-power satellite product line leveraging space station components.

You will report to the Senior Director of Avionics Systems Engineering, Integration, and Test. This is a full-time, exempt position in Long Beach, California.

What You Will Own

• Hire and manage a team of world-class avionics and power systems engineers
• Negotiate between business and technical stakeholders to establish program requirements and drive system-level architecture trades to closure
• Develop and own the fault management strategy for the avionics and power subsystems
• Lead cross-functional engineering teams to capture system-level operating modes, fault tolerance requirements, constraints, and behaviors and drive their implementation
• Drive generation of Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) for Avionics and Power Systems
• Quantify Avionics and Power System performance metrics and sensitivities using analysis and modeling infrastructure to drive technical decisions
• Identify Avionics and Power System verification milestones in the form of analyses, demonstrations, inspections, and tests
• Own the vehicle Interface Control Document (ICD) and all processes and tools to achieve configuration control across the entire vehicle, keeping hardware and software teams synchronized
• Define and own vehicle and system level verification campaigns, working closely with Avionics Test and Integration Test teams
• Lead efforts to consolidate verification reports and support Final Verification Review for each program
• Work with Vehicle Systems Engineering to develop and maintain Validation and Verification tracking processes and supporting tools
• Supervise Avionics and Power Systems engineers to deliver tasks to time and quality requirements, establishing relative priorities
• Lead team to produce high quality documentation for program milestone requirements
• Mentor junior engineers on best practices in Systems Engineering

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, or other hard science
• 8+ years of post-bachelor's experience working with aerospace avionics systems
• 2+ years of experience leading or managing cross-functional teams developing a product with complexity in operations and design; direct people management experience required

Preferred Experience

• Demonstrated experience championing a culture of systems engineering, emphasizing verification and validation through analysis and test with a test-like-you-fly mentality
• End-to-end experience leading Validation and Verification (V&V) campaigns
• Experience leading requirements analysis and decomposition activities
• Track record of deploying products with successful space flight heritage
• Experience in space flight operations, ideally supporting vehicle operations plans and procedures for human space flight
• Experience designing vehicle power systems against complex safety and fault tolerance requirements
• Strong documentation and communication skills
• Experience with industry standard Systems Engineering principles and best practices

Additional Requirements

• Willingness to work evenings and/or weekends to support critical mission milestones
• U.S. person status required: U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent resident, asylee or refugee with status granted (not pending)

Compensation

Base salary range: $160,720 to $261,900 USD. Salary calibrated to candidate's experience and demonstrated capability. Full-time employees receive company equity, medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, paid time off (20+ days vacation for exempt staff, 10+ days for non-exempt, with annual cash-out option), paid parental leave, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, 401(k) plan, ClassPass credits, mental healthcare through Spring Health, free snacks, coffee, barista service, cold drinks, and dinner meals, and subsidized lunch.