Senior Software Engineer, Backend

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 Senior Software Engineer, Backend reporting to the Senior Manager, Software Engineering to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations.

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

Responsibilities: 

• Design, build, and maintain scalable backend services, tools, and pipelines supporting mission-critical security systems.


• Collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams to design and implement secure, high-performance services and APIs.


• Develop and maintain backend infrastructure for authentication, authorization, and secure data handling.


• Establish and promote best practices for backend architecture, security, and code quality at scale.


• Build systems that are reliable, observable, and capable of supporting a rapidly growing codebase and engineering team.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.


• 6+ years of backend software engineering experience, with exposure to security-focused systems (e.g., IAM, API security, certificate management).


• Strong experience building and operating backend services in cloud environments.


• Proficiency in at least one modern programming language (Python, Go, Rust, C++, etc.).


• Solid understanding of distributed systems, API design, and backend architecture.


• Experience working in Linux environments, including command line and scripting.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Experience solving ambiguous, complex backend problems in fast-paced environments.


• Familiarity with DevOps practices and tools (Docker, Kubernetes).


• Experience designing and scaling APIs and microservices.


• Background in one or more security domains (e.g., cryptography, network security, infrastructure security).


• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across teams.


• Ownership mindset with a bias toward action and continuous improvement.

Additional Requirements:

• Ability to travel up to 10% 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.

Pay Range: 

• Senior Software Engineer, Enterprise Applications: $159,000 - $226,000


• Staff Software Engineer, Enterprise Applications: $188,600 - $267,000

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY