Vast develops commercial space stations to support sustained human activity, research, and manufacturing in low-Earth orbit and beyond.
<div class="content-intro"><p>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.</p></div><p>Vast is looking for a <strong>Senior RF Systems Engineer</strong>, reporting to the<strong> Director, RF Engineering, </strong>to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations.</p> <p>This will be a <strong>full-time</strong>, <strong>exempt</strong> position located in our <strong>Long Beach</strong> location. </p> <p><strong>Responsibilities: </strong></p> <ul> <li>Support system level design and modeling of spacecraft communications systems including space to Earth, space to space, and crew audio & multimedia links.</li> <li>Generate requirements, concepts of operations, block diagrams, and high level analysis for artificial gravity space stations.</li> <li>Work closely with integration and operations teams to define checkout procedures, LEOP, orbital phase, docking, crewed operations, etc.</li> <li>Collaborate with a multidisciplinary engineering team to form tightly integrated avionics, structures, thermal control, and software systems.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Minimum Qualifications:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Bachelor's Degree in electrical engineering or related engineering discipline.</li> <li>4+ years of experience in an RF engineering role.</li> <li>Experience with RF test equipment such as Spectrum Analyzers, VNAs, Power Meters, Cable Analyzers, etc.</li> <li>Experience in software development: Matlab, Python, C/C++, or other programming languages.</li> <li>Familiarity with RF communication system design & analysis.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Preferred Skills & Experience:</strong></p> <ul> <li>MS or PhD in ECE, EE, Physics, or related stem discipline</li> <li>Experience with RF analysis software: HFSS, STK, ADS</li> <li>Knowledge of in space effects including ionizing radiation, atomic oxygen, plasma charging, MMOD, outgassing, etc</li> <li>Prior work in spacecraft system design and/or operation</li> <li>Understanding of RF modulation and media access control schemes such as BPSK, SOQPSK, GMSK, APSK, TDMA, FDMA, etc</li> <li>Understanding of communication system coding and error correction schemes such as Reed Solomon, LDPC, BCH, etc</li> <li>Familiar with common space communications interoperability standards such as CCSDS and DVB-S2</li> <li>Experience with Ethernet and IP networking, VPNs, TCP, UDP, L2/L3 switches, VLANs, etc</li> <li>Experience with serial communication protocols such as CAN, SPI, and I2C, RS-422/485</li> </ul> <p><strong>Pay Range:</strong></p> <p>Senior RF System Engineer: $147,600-$209,520</p> <p>Staff RF System Engineer: $175,480-$249,096</p><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="title">Pay Range: California</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$147,600</span><span class="divider">—</span><span>$249,096 USD</span></div></div></div><div class="content-conclusion"><p style="line-height: 1;"><strong>COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS<br></strong><br>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.</p> <p style="line-height: 1;"><strong><br>U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS<br><br></strong>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 <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/section-120.62">22 C.F.R. § 120.62</a> 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.<br><br></p> <p style="line-height: 1;"><strong>EQUAL OPPORTUNITY</strong><br><br>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 ident