Talent Operations Specialist

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 Talent Operation (Ops)  Specialist, reporting to the Senior Manager, Talent Operations, to build and operate the systems, processes, and data that power how we hire. This role is not only about keeping recruiting running day to day. It is about architecting the operational backbone that lets our team hire world-class talent quickly, consistently, and at scale as the company grows.

The Talent Ops Specialist will be a process-driven problem solver with a shared sense of urgency, equally comfortable tightening the workflows we already have and assisting with standing up new capabilities.

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

Responsibilities:

• Own and optimize the day-to-day administration of our ATS and broader recruiting tech stack, including but not limited to workflows, and user access
• Document, and continuously refine scalable recruiting processes, SOPs, and frameworks that balance speed, consistency, and a high-quality candidate experience
• Build and maintain recruiting dashboards and reporting
• Serve as the steward of recruiting data integrity, ensuring accuracy and consistency across systems
• Assist with adoption of new tools and processes through clear documentation, training, and change management
• Collaborate with recruiters, hiring managers, and the broader people team to elevate standards, share best practices, and drive continuous improvement across the function

Minimum Qualifications

• 3 to 4 years of experience in recruiting operations, HR operations, or a related operational roles
• Hands-on experience administering and configuring an ATS, including building workflows and reporting
• Demonstrated ability to analyze recruiting or operational data

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience standing up or significantly overhauling recruiting processes or systems from the ground up, not only maintaining existing ones
• Experience with workflow automation, systems integrations, or recruiting tool implementations
• Experience operating in a high-growth environment
• Strong ownership mindset with a focus on outcomes, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Comfort navigating ambiguity and building without a fully defined playbook

Pay Range: California

$69,000—$98,000 USD

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 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.