---
title: 'Manager, Procurement (Machining) at Vast'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/manager-procurement-machining-vast-long-beach-california-d4xzg3ea1r92'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-10'
---

# Manager, Procurement (Machining) at Vast

- **Company:** Vast
- **Location:** Long Beach California, United States
- **Compensation:** $114k–$162k
- **Posted:** 2026-06-22
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-10
- **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/vast/jobs/4691057006?gh_jid=4691057006

## Job description

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 seeking a Manager, Procurement (Machining) to lead procurement strategy, supplier execution, and team performance for machining commodities supporting the development and production of the world’s first commercial space station. This role is accountable for building and scaling the machining supply base, driving supplier performance, managing critical escalations, and ensuring sourcing processes enable the speed, agility, cost discipline, and quality required in a high-reliability aerospace manufacturing environment.

The Manager will lead a team of 3–5 buyers or procurement professionals and will serve as the functional owner for machining commodity strategy. This includes supplier selection, capacity planning, commercial negotiations, KPI development, supplier relationship management, and continuous improvement across sourcing and procurement processes. The ideal candidate is a hands-on leader who can operate strategically while also engaging directly in complex sourcing activities, supplier escalations, and cross-functional problem solving.

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

Responsibilities:

- Lead, develop, and performance-manage a team of 3–5 buyers or sourcing professionals supporting machining commodities
- Own and execute the overall commodity strategy for machining, including supply base development, sourcing plans, supplier segmentation, capacity planning, and risk mitigation
- Establish supplier selection strategies that balance speed, quality, technical capability, cost, capacity, and long-term scalability
- Act as the primary escalation point for machining supplier issues, including schedule recovery, quality concerns, commercial disputes, capacity constraints, and delivery risks
- Partner closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Planning, Program Management, Finance, and Operations to align sourcing execution with production and program priorities
- Develop, track, and improve KPIs related to sourcing cycle time, supplier on-time delivery, cost performance, quote turnaround, quality performance, and supplier responsiveness
- Drive competitive sourcing events, RFQs/RFPs, supplier negotiations, contract execution, and long-term agreement strategies for machining spend
- Lead supplier business reviews and performance management routines to drive accountability and continuous improvement
- Identify and qualify new machining suppliers to support increasing production demand, technical complexity, and schedule requirements
- Optimize procurement and sourcing processes to improve speed, agility, data integrity, and scalability as Vast transitions from development to production
- Challenge requirements, identify cost and schedule opportunities, and partner with technical teams to improve manufacturability and sourcing outcomes
- Support make-versus-buy evaluations, supplier capacity assessments, and sourcing risk reviews for critical hardware
- Ensure supplier execution supports quality management system requirements, including AS9100, ISO9001, or equivalent aerospace manufacturing standards
- Build organizational capability through coaching, prioritization, training, and development of team members
- Provide clear visibility to senior leadership and other department leaders on supplier performance, sourcing risks, recovery plans, and commodity health
- Identify and implement scalable improvements to support company growth, production readiness, and long-term supply chain resilience

Minimum Qualifications:

- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Engineering, Operations, or a related field; or equivalent relevant experience
- 7+ years of experience in procurement, sourcing, supply chain, supplier management, or a related field
- Experience sourcing machined components or managing machining suppliers in a hardware manufacturing environment
- Demonstrated experience leading teams, mentoring buyers or sourcing professionals, or managing procurement execution through others
- Experience developing commodity strategies, supplier selection plans, or sourcing strategies for complex technical commodities
- Experience negotiating pricing, terms, lead times, capacity commitments, or supplier agreements
- Experience managing supplier escalations related to delivery, quality, cost, capacity, or contractual performance
- Experience developing or managing KPIs related to supplier performance, procurement execution, sourcing cycle time, cost, or delivery
- Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, ambiguous, and high-growth manufacturing environment
- Strong communication skills with experience engaging technical stakeholders and senior leadership

Preferred Skills & Experience:

- Experience in aerospace, defense, space, automotive, advanced manufacturing, or other high-reliability hardware environments
- Strong understanding of machining processes, including CNC milling, CNC turning, multi-axis machining, complex assemblies, special processes, and inspection requirements
- Experience sourcing tight-tolerance, low-volume/high-mix, prototype, development, or production machined hardware
- Experience working within a quality management system such as AS9100, ISO9001, or equivalent
- Experience qualifying new suppliers and scaling a supplier base to support production growth
- Experience conducting supplier business reviews, supplier scorecards, capacity reviews, and corrective action follow-up
- Experience partnering with Engineering and Manufacturing teams to improve manufacturability, reduce cost, and shorten lead times
- Experience reviewing engineering documentation such as drawings, BOMs, specifications, models, and revision-controlled data packages
- Experience supporting ERP/MRP-driven procurement processes and improving procurement data discipline
- Experience developing dashboards or reporting mechanisms to provide visibility into sourcing performance, supplier health, and commodity risk
- Strong commercial acumen with the ability to balance cost, schedule, quality, technical risk, and supplier relationship considerations
- Proven ability to drive process improvement and build scalable sourcing practices in a rapidly growing organization
- Knowledge of lean manufacturing, supplier development, or continuous improvement methodologies

Additional Requirements:

- Willingness to work extended hours or weekends as needed to support critical milestones
- Ability to travel to suppliers

Pay Range:

- Manager, Procurement (Machining): $114,000 - $162,000

Pay Range: California $114,000—$162,000 USD

We calibrate level and compensation to the selected candidate's experience and demonstrated capability. We welcome applicants across a range of experience levels to apply.

## COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Base salary will vary depending on job-related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand. Salary is just one component of our comprehensive compensation package. Full-time employees also receive company equity, as well as access to a full suite of compelling benefits and perks, including: 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, and other discounts and perks. We also take pride in offering exceptional food perks, with 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.

## 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](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/section-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 is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Vast is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

## About Vast

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Aerospace, space infrastructure, commercial space stations
- **Target customers**: B2B (government space agencies, research institutions, pharmaceutical/biotech companies, satellite operators), B2C (private astronaut missions)
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “Our long-term vision is to create artificial gravity stations, allowing humanity to live and work in space without long-term harm to the body.” – Jed McCaleb

## Products & Services
- **Haven-1**: The world’s first commercial space station, a single-module habitat launching in 2027 aboard a Falcon 9. Designed for 4-crew missions of up to 30 days, with microgravity research lab (10 payload slots), large window dome, always-on Wi-Fi, and Starlink laser communications. [vastspace.com](https://www.vastspace.com/)
- **Haven-2**: A planned multi-module space station designed as a commercial successor to the ISS. First module (based on Haven-1 but stretched) to launch on Falcon Heavy in 2028, with full configuration of eight modules by 2032. Will compete for NASA’s Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) Phase 2. [wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vast_(company))
- **Haven Demo**: A 500 kg demonstration satellite launched in November 2025, successfully tested communications, power, propulsion, and deorbit capabilities. Operated for three months before controlled reentry in February 2026. [vastspace.com](https://www.vastspace.com/)
- **High-Power Satellite Buses**: Leveraging in-house space station technology, Vast has expanded into designing and building high-power satellite buses for commercial and government customers. [vastspace.com](https://www.vastspace.com/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed. However, the company raised $500M in March 2026 ($300M equity + $200M debt). [wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vast_(company))
- **Key Metric**: Total funding to date – at least $500M (March 2026), plus prior undisclosed rounds led by founder Jed McCaleb.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Balerion Space Ventures, IQT, Qatar Investment Authority, Mitsui & Co., MUFG, Nikon Corporation, Stellar Ventures, Space Capital, Earthrise Ventures, Jed McCaleb. Partners include SpaceX (launch provider, Starlink), Impulse Space (propulsion), AnySignal, TRL11, Addvalue, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, CASIS, UK Space Agency, European Space Agency, NASA (CCSC-2 agreement). [wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vast_(company)) [vastspace.com](https://www.vastspace.com/)
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Won the sixth commercial ISS astronaut mission contract (Feb 2026), with ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet as commander. 
  - Signed multi-mission agreements with France (to ISS and Haven-1) and the Czech Republic (via ESA). 
  - Completed primary structure of Haven-1 – the first U.S. space station flight article built in over 20 years. 
  - Headcount grew from 606+ (Oct 2024) to “1000+ team members” by mid-2026. 
  - Former NASA CEO Steve Isakowitz and veteran astronauts Andrew Feustel and Garrett Reisman joined as advisors/team members. [vastspace.com](https://www.vastspace.com/) [wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vast_(company))

## Competitive Advantages
- **First-mover in commercial space stations**: Vast is the only operational commercial space station company to have flown and operated its own spacecraft in orbit (Haven Demo). 
- **Hardware-rich, low-cost approach**: Rapid iteration and in-house manufacturing enable faster development than competitors. 
- **Artificial gravity vision**: Long-term differentiator for human health in space – a key gap in current ISS and other station designs. 
- **Strong talent pipeline**: Leadership includes serial entrepreneurs (Max Haot, Jed McCaleb) and top SpaceX and NASA veterans (CTO Alex Hudson, COO Kris Young, astronaut Andrew Feustel). 
- **Strategic partnerships**: Deep relationships with SpaceX, international space agencies, and research institutions provide launch, funding, and mission opportunities.

## Strategic Focus
- **Haven-1 launch and crewed missions**: Complete assembly, launch in 2027, and execute the first Vast-1 crew mission (4 astronauts, ~14 days). 
- **Haven-2 development**: Compete for NASA’s CLD Phase 2 contract (decision expected July 2026) to become a primary ISS replacement. 
- **Expand microgravity research network**: Partner with pharmaceutical, biotech, and materials science companies for in-space manufacturing and R&D. 
- **International expansion**: Secure additional government astronaut missions (France, UK, Czech Republic) and explore Indian launch capabilities. 
- **High-power satellite bus business**: Leverage in-house technology to capture commercial and defense satellite contracts.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: “All in” – bottom-up engineering, first principles, extreme ownership, rapid progress, and celebration of wins. Emphasizes respect, curiosity, and excellence. [vastspace.com](https://www.vastspace.com/careers)
- **Benefits**: Long-term equity incentive, 401(k), generous PTO with annual cash-out, paid parental leave, comprehensive medical/dental/vision, subsidized meals, fitness memberships, and wellness benefits. [vastspace.com](https://www.vastspace.com/careers)
- **Work environment**: In-office in Long Beach, CA. State-of-the-art 115,000 sq ft facility with manufacturing operations. 
- **Engineering culture**: Agile, risk-tolerant, and driven by passion for space. Team includes former SpaceX, NASA, and top aerospace engineers. 
- **Impact**: Directly building the future of long-term space habitation – a mission-driven environment with ambitious timelines and tangible results.

## Sources
1. [vastspace.com](https://www.vastspace.com/)
2. [vastspace.com/careers](https://www.vastspace.com/careers)
3. [wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vast_(company))
4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/vastspace)

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