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 seeking a Financial Analyst to report to the Director of Finance and support financial planning and execution for our engineering and manufacturing organizations. This role sits at the intersection of finance and hardware development and plays a key role in supporting complex engineering programs from early-stage development through production and operational ramp.
The ideal candidate understands the realities of hardware development, including iterative design cycles, prototype builds, engineering labor investment, evolving cost structures, and supplier engagement. This individual will partner closely with engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing leadership to assess cost performance across major programs while translating technical progress into clear financial insight for senior leadership; the candidate must be able to distill this information absent existing structure and be able to excel in an ambiguous environment
This is a full-time, exempt position located at our Long Beach, CA headquarters.
Responsibilities:
- Partner directly with engineering and manufacturing leadership to support financial planning across hardware development programs
- Develop and maintain models that track engineering labor, vendor spend, tooling investments, prototype builds, and overall program cost evolution
- Support cost forecasting, headcount planning, capital tracking, and supplier spend analysis
- Provide visibility into investment levels across development efforts, including early-stage design, testing, and production ramp
- Analyze cost drivers tied to design revisions, schedule shifts, and supplier dynamics
- Partner with supply chain and manufacturing teams to evaluate material cost trends and build financial models to accurately forecast expected spending
- Translate technical program updates into structured financial analysis and executive-ready reporting
- Support program reviews by identifying risks, tradeoffs, and financial implications of engineering decisions
- Identify opportunities to improve financial rigor, tools, and cross-functional reporting processes
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Finance, Economics, Operations, or a related field
- 4–10 years of experience in engineering or engineering/program finance within hardware-focused industries such as mechanical, aerospace, manufacturing, systems, robotics, drone, or satellite environments
- Strong Excel or Google Sheets modeling skills with the ability to build structured cost and resource models
- Experience working cross-functionally with engineering and manufacturing stakeholders
Preferred Skills & Experience:
- Experience in aerospace, robotics, drone, satellite, or advanced hardware startups
- Familiarity with hardware development lifecycles from concept and R&D through production ramp
- Experience supporting cost reviews, schedule reviews, or program execution milestones
- Earned Value Management (EVM) exposure
- Ability to synthesize technical and financial inputs into concise insights for leadership
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with comfort presenting to senior technical leader
Additional Requirements:
- Ability to travel up to 25% of the time
- Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones
- Ability to lift up to 25lbs unassisted
- Specific certifications, as appropriate
U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS
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 22 C.F.R. § 120.62 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.EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
Vast Long Beach, California, USA Office
2851 Orange Ave, Long Beach, CA, United States, 90755
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