Staff Software Engineer, AI Tooling at Vast

<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>Staff</strong> <strong>Software Engineer, AI Tooling </strong>reporting to the <strong>Senior Manager, Software 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&nbsp;<strong>full-time</strong>,&nbsp;<strong>exempt</strong> position located in our&nbsp;<strong>Long Beach</strong>&nbsp;location.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Responsibilities:&nbsp;</strong></p> <ul> <li>Define the technical direction and long-term roadmap for Vast's internal AI platforms and tooling</li> <li>Architect and lead the development of full-stack AI applications that serve diverse use-cases across the company</li> <li>Establish engineering best practices, design patterns, and quality standards for AI systems development</li> <li>Build and maintain production-grade integrations connecting AI models with internal tools, data sources, and workflows</li> <li>Design and implement pipelines for AI response enforcement, content safety, and output formatting</li> <li>Drive the evaluation and adoption of emerging AI frameworks, models, and patterns to continuously improve internal tooling</li> <li>Collaborate cross-functionally with IT Infrastructure, security, and business stakeholders to integrate AI tooling with existing systems</li> <li>Mentor and guide other engineers contributing to AI initiatives, fostering a culture of technical excellence</li> <li>Ensure the reliability, observability, and scalability of production AI systems</li> <li>Rapidly iterate on AI tooling as the technology landscape and company needs evolve</li> </ul> <p><strong>Minimum Qualifications:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Bachelor's degree in computer science, math, an engineering discipline, or equivalent work experience</li> <li>8+ years of software development or relevant industry experience</li> <li>Proven track record of leading technical initiatives from concept through production deployment</li> <li>Strong full-stack development proficiency with experience across both frontend and backend systems</li> <li>Deep understanding of AI/ML concepts, large language model architectures, prompt engineering, and modern AI tooling patterns</li> <li>Demonstrated experience implementing and maintaining production applications at scale</li> <li>Experience establishing engineering best practices and providing technical mentorship</li> <li>Strong cross-functional communication skills with the ability to translate technical concepts for diverse audiences</li> </ul> <p><strong>Preferred Skills &amp; Experience:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Experience with Python and TypeScript in production environments</li> <li>Experience with Svelte or SvelteKit</li> <li>Experience with OpenWebUI or similar open-source AI interface platforms</li> <li>Experience building or integrating MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers and gateways</li> <li>Experience with LLM API integration and AI pipeline development</li> <li>Experience with containerization and deployment (Docker, Kubernetes)</li> <li>Familiarity with RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) patterns and vector databases</li> <li>Experience building or leading AI/ML platforms at scale</li> <li>Prior experience as a tech lead or in a similar engineering leadership role</li> <li>Experience working in fast-paced, ambiguous environments with evolving requirements</li> </ul> <p><strong>Additional Requirements:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Ability to travel up to 10% of the time</li> <li>Willingness to work evenings and/or weekends to support critical mission milestones</li> <li>Ability to lift up to 25 lbs unassisted</li> <li>Specific certifications, as appropriate</li> </ul> <p><strong>Pay Range:</strong>&nbsp;</p> <ul> <li>Senior Software Engineer, AI Tooling: $159,900 - $226,900</li> <li>Staff Software Engineer, AI Tooling: $188,600 - $267,700</li> </ul><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="title">Pay Range: California</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$159,900</span><span class="divider">&mdash;</span><span>$267,700 USD</span></div></div></div><div class="content-conclusion"><div style="line-height: 1;"><strong>COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS</strong></div> <div style="line-height: 1;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="line-height: 1;"> <div> <div data-qa="message_pane"> <div> <div id="message-list"> <div id="message-list"> <div data-qa="slack_kit_scrollbar"> <div> <div data-qa="slack_kit_list"> <div id="message-list_1770163429.476589" data-qa="virtual-list-item" data-item-key="1770163429.476589"> <div data-qa="message_container" data-qa-unprocessed="false" data-qa-placeholder="false" data-msg-ts="1770163429.476589" data-msg-channel-id="D1T52LDR4"> <div data-qa-hover="true"> <div> <div> <div> <div data-qa="message_content"> <div> <div data-qa="message-text"> <div data-qa="block-kit-renderer"> <div> <div> <div>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 &amp; 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.</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="message-list_bottomSpacer" data-qa="virtual-list-item" data-item-key="bottomSpacer"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div> <div>&nbsp;</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div style="line-height: 1;"> <p><strong>U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS</strong></p> 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.</div> <div style="line-height: 1;">&nbsp;</div> <p style="line-height: 1;"><strong>EQUAL OPPORTUNITY</strong></p> <div style="line-height: 1;">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.</div></div>