Technical Product Manager, Special Projects

Job description

Vast is developing next-generation **space stations and space infrastructure** using an incremental, hardware-rich, and low-cost approach. Vast is rapidly developing its multi-module Haven Station 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. 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 2027, followed by additional Haven modules. Additionally, the company recently announced **Vast Satellite**, a high-power satellite product line leveraging its space station components and the heritage of Haven Demo. Headquartered in **Long Beach, California**, and with more than 1,000 employees and over a billion dollars in private capital, Vast has built the facilities required to manufacture and operate America’s next space station. The company plans to develop future habitats and systems for the Moon and Mars, dedicated space stations for government partners, and other crewed systems that will unlock the expanding long-term space economy. Vast is looking for a **Staff Technical Product Manager, Special Projects** reporting to the **Senior Manager of Information Systems**, to lead and directly contribute to the design, development, and implementation of innovative technology solutions across the organization. This role sits at the intersection of technical product management, solution architecture and automation to deliver solutions that are critical to enabling Vast to scale as we design and build artificial-gravity human-rated space stations. This will be a **full-time, exempt** position located in our **Long Beach** location **Responsibilities:** - Lead high-priority and special technology initiatives from problem definition and solution design through development, deployment, and ongoing support - Partner directly with stakeholders across CXO, Engineering, People, Legal, Operations, and other business functions to understand workflows, pain points, and technical requirements - Lead the end-to-end development lifecycle for corporate information systems and act as the primary liaison between cross-functional teams, including HR, Talent Acquisition, Learning & Development, and Environment, Health & Safety - Translate ambiguous or complex business problems into practical, scalable technical solutions - Design and develop custom internal tools, applications, integrations, and workflow automations, working within Vast's security, compliance, and architectural standards - Rapidly prototype and evaluate new technologies and solution approaches to determine technical feasibility and business value before larger investments are made - Identify opportunities to apply AI, automation, and emerging technologies to reduce manual effort, improve decision-making, and enable new business capabilities - Develop AI-enabled workflows and applications using large language models, APIs, retrieval techniques, agents, and other applicable AI technologies - Design and support cloud-based solutions within AWS and AWS GovCloud - Determine when business needs are best addressed through configuration of an existing platform, automation or integration, a custom-built solution, or acquisition of a new product - Establish technical requirements, solution architecture, data flows, security considerations, testing plans, and support models for solutions developed - Collaborate with Information Security, Infrastructure, Software Engineering, Data, and other technical teams to ensure solutions align with enterprise architecture, cybersecurity, and data governance standards - Own testing, deployment, documentation, monitoring, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement of solutions delivered through the role - Build solutions with maintainability in mind, including appropriate documentation, source control, error handling, logging, monitoring, and knowledge transfer - Manage project priorities, dependencies, risks, and stakeholder expectations across multiple concurrent initiatives - Develop technical roadmaps and recommendations for transitioning prototypes or lightweight solutions into scalable, production-ready enterprise capabilities when appropriate - Stay current on emerging technologies and identify pragmatic opportunities to introduce new capabilities into Vast's Information Systems ecosystem **Minimum Qualifications:** - Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related technical field. Equivalent professional experience may be substituted - 6+ years of experience in technical product management, business systems, software development, solutions engineering, systems integration, automation, or a related role - Demonstrated experience independently designing and delivering technical solutions from initial requirements through production deployment and support - Hands-on experience developing workflow automations, system integrations, scripts, or lightweight applications using technologies such as Google Apps Script, n8n, APIs, scripting languages, AI platforms, or cloud services - Experience working with REST APIs, JSON, webhooks, authentication mechanisms, and system-to-system integrations - Working knowledge of at least one programming or scripting language such as JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, or similar - Strong understanding of software development concepts, system architecture, data flows, and application integrations - Ability to translate business requirements into technical designs and explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders - Strong project management and organizational skills with the ability to independently manage multiple initiatives and rapidly changing priorities - Excellent written and verbal communication skill **Preferred Skills & Experience:** - Hands-on experience with Google Apps Script and the Google Workspace ecosystem - Experience designing and maintaining workflow automations using n8n or similar low-code integration and automation platforms - Experience developing solutions using AWS services, with AWS GovCloud experience strongly preferred - Experience building applications or workflows utilizing generative AI, large language models, AI agents, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), or AI APIs - Experience with cloud-native and serverless technologies such as AWS Lambda, API Gateway, S3, databases, queues, event-driven architectures, or similar services - Experience with relational databases, SQL, data transformation, and data integration - Familiarity with Git, source control, CI/CD, testing practices, observability, and modern software development workflows - Experience evaluating build vs. buy vs. integrate decisions and recommending solutions based on cost, scalability, complexity, maintainability, and business value - Experience working with enterprise platforms such as HRIS, LMS, ATS, EHS, QMS, or other business-critical systems - Experience with enterprise application platforms such as NetSuite, Manufacturo, Teamcenter, Jira, Confluence, or similar systems - Understanding of enterprise security, access control, data governance, and compliance requirements - Experience operating in regulated, aerospace and defense, manufacturing, or other technically complex environments - Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a bias toward experimentation, rapid iteration, and delivering practical solutions - Comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment, balancing several projects simultaneously, and adapting quickly as business priorities change **Additional Requirements:** - Ability to travel up to 10% of the time - Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones - Ability to lift up to 25lbs unassisted - Specific certifications, as appropriate Pay Range: California $156,000—$221,000.40 USD *We calibrate level and compensation to the selected candidate's experience and demonstrated capability. We welcome applicants across a range of experience levels to apply.* **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: 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](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/section-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.