Director, US Satellite Business Development & Growth

Vast Space Llc.; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 151,000 - 232,000; Full time

Job summary

Vast is seeking a Director, Satellite Business Development for the Domestic US market, based in Long Beach, CA, with remote US considered on a rare basis. You will lead engagement with US constellation operators, commercial primes, and government-adjacent programs to grow revenue and close multi‑million dollar contracts.

You will own the US commercial pipeline, develop strategy across satellite communications, Earth observation, and in‑orbit compute, and collaborate with internal teams to

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in US space/aerospace business development, sales, or capture management.
• Proven track record of originating and closing contracts, including deals in the tens of millions of dollars or above.
• Established, verifiable senior and executive-level relationships with potential customers, and knowledge of the competitive landscape across the US commercial space market.
• Background in the space/aerospace value chain (launch, satellite bus, payload, prime integration, or operations), ideally complementary to satellite operations.
• Strong technical understanding and ability to communicate complex systems to commercial and prime-contractor audiences.
• Excellent communication, analytical, collaboration, and interpersonal skills; proven ability to work across internal team boundaries.
• Ability to operate independently, prioritize effectively, and manage multiple efforts simultaneously in a fast-paced, lean-team environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive US commercial market strategy across satellite communications, Earth observation, sensing, and in-orbit compute, aligned with Vast's business objectives.
• Build and maintain a market and competitive intelligence view across US commercial space customers and merchant-bus competitors, distinguishing Vast's positioning in each vertical.
• Lead internal planning for opportunity prioritization, capture strategy, and pipeline development across the US commercial market.
• Lead customer engagement across opportunity identification, mission scoping, capability briefings, and early concept development with US constellation operators, Earth observation companies, and commercial primes.
• Develop and manage teaming relationships with commercial primes (e.g., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, L3Harris), working jointly with Vast's National Security team where programs involve US Government end customers.
• Leverage a strong, pre-existing senior-level network across the US space value chain to open doors with potential customers and identify competitive threats early.
• Lead proposal development and coordinate cross-functional contributions from engineering, program management, finance, legal, and export-control/compliance teams, supported by the team's BD analyst and pre-sales engineer.
• Own pipeline development, forecasting, and reporting across all US commercial accounts.
• Negotiate and close contracts for satellite bus platforms and associated services, from initial launch missions to constellation-scale production agreements.
• Represent Vast at US space and aerospace industry events, conferences, and trade shows.
• Deliver presentations, participate in panels, and provide senior/C-suite-level briefings that communicate the capabilities and value of Vast's satellite platforms to commercial and prime-contractor audiences.

Skills

10+ years

Contract closing

Senior relationships

Space/aerospace background

Technical understanding

Communication skills

Independent work

Job description

Vast is seeking a Director, Satellite Business Development for the Domestic US market, based in Long Beach, CA, with remote US considered on a rare basis. You will lead engagement with US constellation operators, commercial primes, and government-adjacent programs to grow revenue and close multi‑million dollar contracts.

You will own the US commercial pipeline, develop strategy across satellite communications, Earth observation, and in‑orbit compute, and collaborate with internal teams to