---
title: 'Senior Legal Counsel (Employment) at Vast'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-legal-counsel-employment-vast-long-beach-9yq2v0xmvnac'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-05'
---

# Senior Legal Counsel (Employment) at Vast

- **Company:** Vast
- **Location:** Long Beach, CA
- **Compensation:** $164k–$232k
- **Posted:** 2026-08-05
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-05
- **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/vast/jobs/4702539006?gh_jid=4702539006

## 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 Senior Legal Counsel, reporting to the General Counsel, to serve as the primary legal advisor to the People Team and all business units on a full range of employment law matters. In this role you will lead employment-law strategy and compliance at Vast, advising leaders on workplace policies, managing risk, and enabling scalable, legally sound people operations as we design and build next-generation human-rated space stations.

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

Responsibilities:

Advice & Counseling

- Serve as the primary legal advisor to the People Team and all business units on the full range of employment law matters, CA wage and hour, PAGA, hiring, performance management, accommodations (ADA/ADAAA), leaves of absence (FMLA/state equivalents), compensation and pay equity, contingent workforce (e.g., staffing companies; temp/seasonal employees), and terminations.
- Provide real-time, practical, and business-oriented counsel on employee relations issues — escalations, disciplinary actions, PIPs, workplace complaints, and sensitive personnel situations.
- Advise on multi-state employment law compliance, keeping guidance current as laws change, and AI-use implications in the workplace.
- Provide guidance and counsel to employment matters pertaining to Vast global entities.

Policies, Handbooks & Compliance

- Partner with the People team to draft, review, revise, and maintain employment policies and employee handbooks to ensure legal compliance, internal consistency, and alignment with company culture.
- Monitor and translate new and evolving federal, state, and local employment legislation, regulations, and agency guidance into actionable policy updates and business recommendations.
- Assist with the annual policy review cycle and partner with HRBPs on rollout and employee communications.

Workplace Investigations Support

- Work alongside the company's in-house investigator on workplace investigations.
- Advise on investigation outcomes, corrective actions, and any resulting legal exposure.
- Help develop and refine investigation protocols, templates, and training materials.

Training & Proactive Risk Mitigation

- Develop training with People team members for managers and business leaders on topics such as anti-harassment, anti-discrimination, wage and hour, accommodations, and lawful management practices.
- Identify systemic employment risk trends and proactively recommend process, policy, or practice changes to reduce exposure.

Talent Acquisition & Hiring Support

- Partner with the Talent Acquisition team on offer letters, employment agreements, independent contractor classifications, pre-employment screening compliance (background checks, ban-the-box), non-compete/non-solicit enforceability, and onboarding documentation.
- Review and update template employment agreements, offer letter forms, and related hiring documents on a regular cadence.

Minimum Qualifications:

- 5+ years of experience in a legal role at a private company or law firm.
- Subject matter expertise in employment law at a start-up technology or high growth organization.
- JD with admission to practice law in a state bar in good standing and able to practice in-house in California.
- Familiarity with contingent workforce (e.g. staffing companies; temp/seasonal employees).
- Strong problem-solving experience and skills.
- Strong verbal and writing skills.
- Process-oriented and team player.
- Good judgment and the ability to balance risk and productivity in a business environment with competing priorities.
- Ability to work independently or collaboratively in a fast-pace environment.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

- Knowledge of computer applications and the ability to easily navigate through different computer software programs.
- Experience leveraging AI technology to improve work efficiency.
- Ability to work effectively in a team environment.
- Ability to make independent judgments with limited information.
- Communication skills for relaying data (verbally and in-writing) between other employees, vendors, and customers.

Additional Requirements:

- Ability to travel up to 15% of the time.
- Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones.
- Specific certifications, as appropriate.

Pay Range: California $164,000—$232,000 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.

## 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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