Head of Special Programs 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>Head of Special Programs</strong>, reporting to the<strong> Chief Policy Officer, </strong>to&nbsp;lead all national security focused business development for Haven-1 and future Vast systems. This role will lead customer engagement, opportunity development, capture strategy, and partnership efforts that advance Vast’s initiatives to operate the world’s leading in-space infrastructure in support of national security objectives.</p> <p>This will be a <strong>full-time</strong>,&nbsp;<strong>exempt</strong> position located in our&nbsp;<strong>Washington D.C.</strong>&nbsp;location.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Responsibilities: </strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Strategic Leadership</strong> <ul> <li>Develop and execute a comprehensive national security market strategy aligned with Vast’s revenue and mission objectives.</li> <li>Collaborate with Leadership, Engineering, Marketing, Legal, Communications, and other internal teams to ensure alignment between national security customer needs and station development priorities.</li> <li>Coordinate the preparation and delivery of space-relevant national security threat briefings to support strategic planning and defense engagement activities.</li> <li>Lead internal planning for national security opportunity prioritization, capture strategy, and pipeline development.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <ul> <li><strong>Business Development and Capture Execution</strong> <ul> <li>Lead customer engagement across opportunity identification, mission scoping, capability briefings, and early concept development.</li> <li>Identify, shape, and advance opportunities for national security use of Vast systems across crewed missions, experimentation, training, test and evaluation, and payload hosting.</li> <li>Lead proposal development and coordinate cross functional contributions from engineering, program management, legal, and operations teams.</li> <li>Manage pipeline development, forecasting, and reporting across all national security&nbsp; accounts.</li> <li>Negotiate and close contracts for national security missions and associated services.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <ul> <li><strong>External Representation</strong> <ul> <li>Represent Vast at national security, aerospace, and space industry events where defense and government stakeholders are present.</li> <li>Deliver presentations, participate in panels, and provide senior-level briefings that communicate the capabilities and value of Vast stations.</li> <li>Support Communications and Marketing in the development and delivery of defense-related public materials, messaging, and engagement strategies.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Minimum Qualifications:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Bachelor’s degree in engineering, physics, aerospace, business, or a related field.</li> <li>10+ years of relevant experience including substantial work in Department of Defense business development, capture management, special programs, or defense contracting.</li> <li>Deep understanding of DoD procurement and contract structures, including IDIQ, OTA,&nbsp; &nbsp; FFP, CPFF, Programs of Record, and SBIR Phase III.</li> <li>Demonstrated experience leading efforts that secured Programs of Record, including strategy, teaming, and proposal.</li> <li>Excellent communication, analytical, collaboration, and interpersonal skills.</li> <li>Strong technical understanding and ability to communicate complex systems to defense audiences.</li> <li>Excellent communication, analytical, collaboration, and interpersonal skills.</li> <li>Ability to operate independently, prioritize effectively, and manage multiple efforts simultaneously in a fast paced environment.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Preferred Skills &amp; Experience:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Master’s degree in engineering, science, business, or a national security discipline.</li> <li>Experience working with the U.S. Space Force, Space Development Agency, Defense Innovation Unit, DARPA, Air Force, or similar organizations.</li> <li>Strong understanding of the flexible acquisition approaches DoD uses to explore new technologies, support research and experimentation, and rapidly evaluate emerging commercial capabilities.</li> <li>Ability to work in classified environments.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Additional Requirements:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Ability to travel up to 30% of the time</li> <li>TS/SCI with CI Polygraph.</li> </ul><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="title">Pay Range: Washington D.C.</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$235,000</span><span class="divider">&mdash;</span><span>$294,000 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>