Senior Manager, Ground Segment Engineering

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 August 2025. 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 looking for a Senior Manager, Ground Segment Engineering, reporting to the Director, Ground Segment & Mission Operations, to support the development of the systems that will be required to communicate with artificial-gravity human-rated space stations. This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.

In this role you will contribute to all phases of ground segment system development, from initial concept to the operation and support of Vast’s on-orbit missions. The Ground Segment team builds ground stations, selects and integrates ground stations from our partner networks, and works on console in mission operations. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in the design and build of electrical, mechanical, and RF systems, and exceptional leadership and communication skills.

Responsibilities:

• Recruit, retain and empower a diverse team of engineers to design and build next-generation ground station networks for the Haven vehicle program
• Set and lead team strategy and drive overall results against business objectives 
• End-to-end ownership of ground segment system including provider relationships, testing, networking, and ground station design/build/maintenance
• Lead trade studies for ground segment assets and review technical proposals for their selection
• Oversee operations of Telemetry Tracking and Command (TT&C) ground stations supporting our on-orbit vehicles
• Lead the build out of our ground station systems through all phases from site acquisition, frequency license approval (in collaboration w/ legal and RF teams), installation, hardware integration, testing, calibration to operations
• Oversee the health and status of the ground station network during the launch and early orbit phase of spacecraft operations
• Work closely with the Ground Software team to integrate telemetry and telecommand data to and from ground stations with Vast mission operations software systems
• Design and build ground infrastructure for mission operations voice systems
• Rigorously test the communications interface between both our ground station and vehicle test hardware and ground station and ground software systems

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical, Aerospace, or Software Engineering, or related field
• 10 years of experience in the aerospace or similar industry designing, building, and operating communications systems
• 5+ years of experience with RF tools and equipment such as Receivers, Front-End Processors, Spectrum Analyzers, VNAs, Power Meters, Cable Analyzers, SDRs, etc.
• 5+ years of experience building and managing teams to deliver on a technical vision and strategy

Preferred Skills and Experience:

• Masters Degree in an engineering discipline
• Fundamental skills needed to design and build electrical, mechanical, and RF systems
• Ability to creatively solve problems and bring multiple disciplines together while assessing risk and making design and development decisions with incomplete data sets
• Strong sense of accountability and integrity with excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Comprehensive knowledge and experience with the Linux operating system
• Familiarity with GNU Radio or similar software
• Proficiency in working with softwre-defined radios (SDRs)
• Extensive experience in using sectrum and vector network analyzers for RF testing and troubleshooting
• Demonstrated expertise in systems integration and complex systems debugging
• Strong grasp of electronics and RF theory, and hands-on experience with electronics hardware, including both analog and digital
• Experience with programming & scripting: Matlab, Python, C/C++, JS, etc
• Experience with full-lifecycle product development
• Solid understanding of telemetry systems
• Capability to manage complex projects, including experience leading technical teams through all phases from concept to completion.
• Superior communication skills, both verbal and written
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