Principal Product Engineer

Vast•Long Beach, CA

17h•Onsite

About The Position

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. Vast is looking for a Principal Product Engineer, reporting to the Senior Director, Mission Software, to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations. This individual is responsible for the success of onboard crew applications, ground-based mission control software, and historical data review and analysis tools. This role requires strong product judgment, a high standard of craft, and excellent collaboration skills. This person will own product direction and work closely with UX and engineering partners to ensure complex problems are translated into clear, well-prioritized, and high-quality software solutions. This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, software engineering, informatics, human centered design, or other STEM discipline; OR 12+ years of professional experience.
10+ years of professional experience in software engineering with demonstrated product ownership responsibilities.
Full-stack experience with relevant technologies – e.g. Golang or similar, React / Next.js or similar, experience with databases is a bonus.

Nice To Haves

Experience founding or working at an early-stage startup with responsibility for achieving product-market fit.
Experience taking a product from 0-1 as a technical product lead or a founder.
Experience juggling multiple projects.
Experience with UI/UX design software (Figma, Adobe XD) and/or GenAI driven prototype generation.
Excellent organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to build trust with stakeholders.
Ability to work effectively in a team environment.
Ability to make independent judgments with limited information.
High standards for quality, usability, and execution.
Logical and strategic approach to solving problems.
Portfolio showcasing projects with clear product ownership involvement.
Comfortable working in a high-stress environment balancing several projects at any given time, and the flexibility to adjust for abrupt changes in strategic direction.

Responsibilities

Own the product roadmap derived from input from users, design, and engineering.
Remain hands-on in the codebase every day, delivering customer-facing features and infrastructure improvements across onboard crew apps, mission control, and data review tooling.
Acquire deep understanding of user problems and goals.
Gather and evaluate user requirements in collaboration with engineers, designers, mission operations, and crew stakeholders.
Partner closely with UX designers to shape user experiences and review concepts, prototypes, and designs.
Collaborate with other software engineers to evaluate tradeoffs, scope work, and drive successful delivery.
Prototype software user experiences and gather feedback from astronauts, mission operators, and engineers with an emphasis on rapid iteration.
Employ data-driven decision making to inform the product roadmap and development priorities.
Ensure product decisions reflect a high standard of craft, usability, reliability, and mission readiness.

Benefits

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
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.