Spaceflight Physician

At Vast, our mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space. We are building artificial gravity space stations, allowing long-term stays in space without the adverse effects of zero-gravity. Our initial crewed space habitat will be Haven-1, scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station when it launches into low earth orbit in May 2026. 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 seeking a qualified candidate for a Spaceflight Physician, reporting to the Director of Space Medicine to assist with spacecraft engineering and design and play a vital role in ensuring the safety and well-being of our crew members during missions. This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location. 

In this role, you will collaborate with our interdisciplinary team, interface with internal and external partners and customers, and contribute to the development of critical medical operations, training materials, and protocols.

Responsibilities:

• Assist internal engineering and technical teams in medical equipment selection and development of space station design and features
• Support all crew medical operations, including screening, training, mission operations, crew recovery, and rehabilitation
• Contribute to an ongoing space medicine educational program for relevant internal teams
• Carry out space medicine flight operations with internal and external technical, operational, and programmatic teams
• Assist in planning and executing the crew health stabilization plan prior to and post mission
• Contribute to the research and development of future long-duration spaceflight missions, with a focus on both microgravity and artificial gravity habitats
• Supervise Space Medicine trainees

Minimum Qualifications:

• Medical degree such as MD or DO
• Board certification or board eligibility in a generalist specialty capable of managing acute, undifferentiated illness (e.g. emergency medicine, family medicine, or a similar specialty with experience in urgent care)
• Unrestricted medical license in your state of residence, with good standing and eligible to obtain an unrestricted license in the State of California
• Ability to obtain a DEA number in California
• Previous academic or professional experience in space medicine, including:
• knowledge of life support systems
• systems medicine
• risk assessment methodologies
• resource limited care
• hyperbaric/hypobaric operations
• and telemedicine
• 5+ years of experience with space systems medicine or spaceflight operations
• 10+ years of clinical experience with active practice within the last 3 months
• Current Basic Life Support, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, and Advanced Trauma Life Support certification or equivalent training

Preferred Skills and Experience:

• Completion of a formal training program in space medicine (e.g. a space medicine fellowship adhering to the core competencies agreed to by the space medicine fellowship council or a space focused aerospace medicine residency)
• Experience practicing medicine in an austere environment
• Experience with biomedical research
• Familiarity with spacecraft systems and operations, such as orbital mechanics, avionics, propulsion, thermal control, and life support systems
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in interdisciplinary teams to solve complex problems
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to handle multiple tasks and meet deadlines
• Excellent organizational, communication, and technical writing skills

Additional Requirements:

• Ability to travel up to 30% of the time
• Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones
• Maintain an active clinical practice

Salary Range: California$215,000—$250,000 USDCOMPENSATION 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, flexible paid time off for exempt staff and up to 10 days of vacation for non-exempt staff,