Staff Mission Operations Engineer

Vast is looking for a Staff Mission Operations Engineer, reporting to the VP, Mission Operations to support planning and execution of Vast missions. 

At Vast, Mission Operations Engineers are responsible for the planning and successful execution of our spacecraft missions. They work cross functionally with engineers from other disciplines from the very early stages of spacecraft design through on-orbit decommissioning. The Mission Operations Engineer is responsible for mission operations including authoring procedures to operate the spacecraft, ensuring mission ops runs efficiently, and ensuring the integrity and validity of commands sent to and telemetry received from the spacecraft.

This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.

Responsibilities: 

• Take extreme ownership of large impact initiatives working with engineers across disciplines to support the development of spacecraft operations procedures, flight rules, products & processes, culminating in the safe & successful operations of a newly launched spacecraft
• Provide technical and operational leadership as the operations expert in planning for and execution of pre-flight testing and checkouts to ensure spacecraft and ground systems are ready for flight
• Assist with leading the operation of Vast’s crewed and uncrewed missions for vehicle commissioning, on-orbit operations, anomaly resolution and final deorbit of the spacecraft
• Perform deep-dive analysis of vehicle telemetry and deliver informed summaries as well as recommendations to missions stakeholders as well as to other engineering disciplines for further review & analysis
• Formulate and lead the execution of workflows facilitating improvements to processes & systems with a focus on advancing Vast’s Mission Operations while maintaining Vast’s commitment to excellence
• Plan the scope of and create training materials for conducting training for console operators
• Strategize plans for and lead efforts to iteratively improve the Mission Systems, Mission Operations Software and other ground processes and collaborate with the Mission Systems Engineering & Ground Software Engineering teams to implement them
• Work closely with Mission Management to ensure customer requirements are translated to a Concept of Operations that balances all needs
• Mentor & coach junior Mission Operations Engineers, offering guidance and recommendations to ongoing workflows

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace, mechanical, software engineering, or other engineering discipline
• 7+ years of experience in the operation of complex systems
• Demonstrated ability to work cross-functionally with other engineering disciplines
• Demonstrated ability to to critically think in high stress environments and rapidly evolving situations
• Ability to disseminate critical engineering & technical information effectively and clearly
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Strong demonstrated technical leadership ability
• Willing to support 24/7 operations during mission critical phases

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Experience in human spaceflight mission operations
• Master’s degree in a technical field
• 5+ years working in a spacecraft design, build, and test environment
• Technical knowledge in spacecraft systems engineering (avionics, propulsion, attitude control, communications, orbital mechanics, life support systems, thermal and power control systems)
• Technical knowledge in Space-to-Ground Communication Systems (RF, Ground Stations, Modems, Antenna Systems)
• Experience building from scratch a system, process and team to perform complex operations of an aerospace system (launch vehicle, satellite, crew capsule)
• Software Engineering Skills (C++, Golang, Javascript, React, Software Architecture, Databases, Cloud)
• Matlab or Python/Octave Proficiency

Proficient at using the command line and scripting languages

• Strong Technical Writing skills
• Strong mentorship and leadership skills

Additional Requirements:

• Ability to travel up to 20% of the time
• Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones