Senior Manager, Talent Operations

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 Senior Manager, Talent Operations, reporting to the Director, Talent Acquisition. The Senior Manager, Talent Operations builds and scales the systems, processes, and insights that enable high-performing talent acquisition. This role drives operational excellence and data-informed decisions to deliver consistent, high-quality hiring outcomes aligned with business growth, while managing a team of recruiting coordinators.

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

Responsibilities:

• Own and evolve the end-to-end recruiting operations strategy, ensuring systems, processes, and programs scale with business growth.

• Lead and manage the talent coordination team, ensuring efficient operation and high performance.

• Own and optimize the enterprise ATS (Greenhouse), including workflow design, data integrity, reporting standards, and long-term scalability.

• Design and lead a global TA analytics strategy, delivering executive dashboards, predictive hiring capacity models, and workforce forecasts aligned to multi-year plans.

• Translate complex, multi-source recruiting data into clear, actionable insights and executive-level narratives that drive strategic decision-making.

• Partner cross-functionally with TA, Finance, HRBPs, and IT to lead an integrated workforce planning cadence.

• Build scalable, standardized processes, defining SLAs and accountability across the hiring lifecycle while driving automation and continuous optimization.

• Lead and develop the talent coordination function, establishing capability frameworks and career pathways across Recruiting Operations.

• Own vendor strategy and performance across ATS, CRM, agencies, and recruiting technologies, including contract negotiation and optimization.

• Oversee candidate and hiring manager experience, including scheduling, assessments, KPIs, and careers site optimization.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in human resources, business administration, or related field.

• 5+ Years of experience working in Recruiting Operations at a rapidly growing company.

• 3+ Years of people management experience, preferably managing the recruiting coordination team.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Proven experience in talent operations, particularly in tech or aerospace industries.

• Strong leadership skills with experience managing teams and complex projects.

• Expertise in vendor management and HR systems (ATS, CRM).

• Proficiency in SQL, Looker, or similar data analytics tools is highly desirable.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, capable of working cross-functionally to achieve business goals.

• Innovative thinker with a focus on continuous improvement and using technology to enhance processes.

Pay Range: California
$137,000—$195,000 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: 100% 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.