Senior People Operations Program Specialist

Vast is developing next-generation space stations and space infrastructure using an incremental, hardware-rich, and low-cost approach. Vast is rapidly developing its multi-module Haven Station 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. 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 in 2027, followed by additional Haven modules. Additionally, the company recently announced Vast Satellite, a high-power satellite product line leveraging its space station components and the heritage of Haven Demo.

Headquartered in Long Beach, California, and with more than 1,000 employees and over a billion dollars in private capital, Vast has built the facilities required to manufacture and operate America’s next space station. The company plans to develop future habitats and systems for the Moon and Mars, dedicated space stations for government partners, and other crewed systems that will unlock the expanding long-term space economy.

Vast is looking for a Senior People Operations Program Specialist, reporting to the Senior Manager, People Operations, to serve as the primary owner of contingent workforce operations, advisor onboarding, and international workforce programs. As Vast’s workforce needs scales during peak periods, additional support is needed to complement our existing teams that are designing and building human-rated space stations. Furthermore, as Vast’s presence outside of the United States continues to grow and scale, the Senior People Operations Program Specialist will lay the groundwork and structure for international HR operations.

This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach headquarters.

A successful candidate will be a highly organized and detail-oriented Senior People Operations Program Specialist to own the onboarding, lifecycle management, and offboarding processes for our contingent workforce, independent consultants, advisors, and other non-employee workers. This role will partner closely with Hiring Managers, Supply Chain, Legal, IT, Security, Finance, and People Operations to ensure a seamless worker experience while maintaining compliance with company policies, worker classification requirements, and operational controls. In addition, as Vast’s international operations deepens in our offices in Japan and France, or expands further, the Senior People Operations Program Specialist will liaise between headquarters and global offices on their HR needs. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced environment, enjoys building scalable processes, and can balance exceptional service delivery with strong compliance and risk management practices.

Contingent Workforce & Consultant Operations

• Serve as the primary People Operations point of contact for contingent workers, independent consultants, advisors, and staffing agency personnel.

• Manage end-to-end onboarding and offboarding processes for all non-employee workers.

• Design, implement, and continuously improve scalable contractor onboarding and offboarding programs that provide structure, visibility, accountability, and consistency across the organization.

• Coordinate onboarding activities, including documentation collection, background screening