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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 Data Architect, reporting to the Senior Director of Information Systems, to support the development of the data infrastructure and AI-driven capabilities 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.

Responsibilities:

Design, architect, and implement scalable enterprise data infrastructure including data lakes, warehouses, and real-time streaming platforms
Build and maintain robust data pipelines that feed internal AI/ML tools and enable advanced analytics across all departments
Own end-to-end data architecture from ingestion through transformation to consumption, ensuring data quality, reliability, and security
Integrate data from complex engineering systems (PLM/Teamcenter), manufacturing systems (MES/MOM), ERP (NetSuite), IoT/sensor networks and other enterprise systems
Create innovative data solutions that enable AI/ML capabilities for engineering analysis, manufacturing optimization, and supply chain intelligence
Establish data governance frameworks, standards, and best practices across the organization
Implement MLOps infrastructure to support model training, deployment, and monitoring
Build real-time data pipelines from shop floor systems, test equipment, and operational technology (OT) environments
Collaborate with Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and business teams to understand data requirements and deliver BI/AI-ready datasets
Lead and mentor a high-performing data engineering team, establishing technical standards and fostering a culture of extreme ownership
Evaluate and implement cutting-edge data technologies including cloud-native services, vector databases, and modern data stack tools
Optimize data pipelines for performance, cost-efficiency, and scalability
Implement monitoring, alerting, observability, and disaster recovery capabilities for mission-critical data systems
Provide technical leadership and strategic guidance on data architecture to executive leadership

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent work experience
8+ years of hands-on experience in data engineering, data architecture, or related fields
3+ years of experience in a technical leadership role leading data engineering teams or initiatives
Proven track record of building enterprise-scale data infrastructure and production data pipelines
Expert-level proficiency in SQL and Python
Deep hands-on experience with cloud data platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and associated data services
Strong experience with modern data processing frameworks (Apache Spark, Kafka, Airflow, or equivalent)
Demonstrated experience with data warehousing technologies (Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Redshift, or similar)
Experience supporting AI/ML initiatives with production-grade data pipelines and infrastructure

Preferred Skills & Experience:

Experience in manufacturing, aerospace, defense, or hardware-intensive industries
Background integrating data from PLM systems (Teamcenter, Windchill), ERP systems (NetSuite, SAP), and MES/manufacturing execution systems
Hands-on experience with MLOps tools, feature stores, and machine learning data pipelines
Knowledge of DevOps/DataOps practices including CI/CD, infrastructure as code (Terraform, CloudFormation), and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)
Experience with real-time streaming architectures and event-driven systems
Familiarity with vector databases, knowledge graphs, and AI/LLM data architectures
Understanding of dimensional modeling, data vault methodology, and modern data architecture patterns
Contributions to open-source data engineering projects
Experience with digital twin architectures or simulation data management
Strong understanding of data security, compliance, and governance in regulated industries
Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
Proven ability to balance strategic vision with tactical execution in fast-paced startup environments
Track record of extreme ownership—proactively identifying problems and driving solutions to completion

Additional Requirements:

Ability to travel up to 10% of the time to other Vast facilities or vendor sites
Willingness to work extended hours or weekends to support critical mission milestones and production launches
Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State (export control requirement)

Pay Range:

Staff Data Architect: $155,800- $221,160

Pay Range: California$155,800—$221,160 USD

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: 100% 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.