Director, IT
Launcher
Vast was founded to expand humanity's frontier into the solar system and beyond. We believe that the next step on that journey is enabling manufacturing and habitation in LEO. We are building artificial gravity space stations to make this a reality. If you want to join a team that builds amazing things with the most talented people on Earth, please reach out.
Vast is looking for a Director, IT, reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, to lead the company’s IT and cybersecurity operations. The ideal candidate will have a highly technical background in IT and cybersecurity ideally with experience specific to the aerospace industry. The role requires the skills to design and implement systems to handle proprietary, sensitive, and controlled data in accordance with DoD, NASA, and export control requirements at a 500+ person scale. This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.
Responsibilities:
- Develop and implement a scalable, secure, and efficient IT strategy aligning with business objectives
- Oversee global network infrastructure, including dark fiber, for high availability and optimal performance
- Manage data center compute resources for critical systems and ensure adherence to security standards
- Deploy, maintain, and upgrade aerospace industry-relevant enterprise software and systems
- Lead and ensure timely and budget-compliant completion of IT projects
- Negotiate and manage contracts with IT vendors, service providers, and consultants
- Develop and manage a cost-effective IT budget
- Stay abreast of aerospace industry compliance regulations and ensure IT practices comply
- Monitor technological advancements for timely upgrades and modifications
- Act as a liaison to government and private industry partners for IT and cybersecurity matters
- Lead Change Approval Board for company-wide priorities and stakeholder engagement
- Develop and maintain risk mitigation strategies for executive leadership
- Provision compute resources for engineering simulations to enhance engineering velocity
Minimum Qualifications:
- 10+ years of experience in IT and/or cybersecurity management
- 2+ years of experience building, deploying, and maintaining IT and cybersecurity solutions
- Strong knowledge of cybersecurity best practices
- Excellent communication and leadership skills
- Experience in leading third party compliance assessments
Preferred Skills & Experience:
- Relevant IT certifications (e.g., CISSP, CISM, ITIL)
- Previous experience administering and/or managing a SaaS-centric IT program
- Experience selecting and implementing solutions from cloud providers (e.g. AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
- Proven ability to drive IT strategic planning and execution aligned with business objectives
- Willingness to do hands-on IT and cybersecurity engineering
- Prior experience working in a fast-paced startup environment
- Familiarity with aerospace industry regulations and standards regarding IT and data
- Strong understanding of compliance requirements as it relates to NASA and the Department of Defense (i.e. NIST SP 800-171, CMMC 2.0, DFARS 252.204-7012, FIPS 140-2, etc.)
Additional Requirements:
- Ability to travel at least 10% of the time
- Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones
- Specific certifications, as appropriate
Pay Range:
- Director of IT: $195,000 - $235,000
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 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.
