Senior Software Engineer, Backend

The job

LIVE Employer public job feed (private-sector employer) Source: the employer's public careers feed · Data: listed 2026-04-28

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 looking for a Senior Software Engineer, Backend reporting to the Senior Manager, Software Engineering to support the development of the systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations.

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

Responsibilities: 

• Design, build, and maintain scalable backend services, tools, and pipelines supporting mission-critical security systems.
• Collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams to design and implement secure, high-performance services and APIs.
• Develop and maintain backend infrastructure for authentication, authorization, and secure data handling.
• Establish and promote best practices for backend architecture, security, and code quality at scale.
• Build systems that are reliable, observable, and capable of supporting a rapidly growing codebase and engineering team.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• 6+ years of backend software engineering experience, with exposure to security-focused systems (e.g., IAM, API security, certificate management).
• Strong experience building and operating backend services in cloud environments.
• Proficiency in at least one modern programming language (Python, Go, Rust, C++, etc.).
• Solid understanding of distributed systems, API design, and backend architecture.
• Experience working in Linux environments, including command line and scripting.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Experience solving ambiguous, complex backend problems in fast-paced environments.
• Familiarity with DevOps practices and tools (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Experience designing and scaling APIs and microservices.
• Background in one or more security domains (e.g., cryptography, network security, infrastructure security).
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across teams.
• Ownership mindset with a bias toward action and continuous improvement.

Additional Requirements:

• Ability to travel up to 10% of the time.
• Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones.
• Ability to lift up to 25lbs unassisted.
• Specific certifications, as appropriate.

Pay Range: 

• Senior Software Engineer, Backend: $159,000 - $226,000
• Staff Software Engineer, Backend: $188,600 - $267,000

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.

Explore around this job

Field: Technology Sub-niche: Software engineering All jobs at Vast Jobs in California Jobs in Long Beach, CA Long Beach city guide California state guide Los Angeles County economy

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About the role

This is a — role in the Technology field (Software engineering) at Vast.

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How to prepare and behave

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The city

The job is in Long Beach, CA. Below is what the official statistics say about living and working there.

How Long Beach compares. Among the 145 largest places in California, Long Beach is #7 by population, #131 for homeownership (#1 = highest), #114 for household income (#1 = highest), #34 for rent (#1 = cheapest). Its county, Los Angeles County, is #7 of 58 counties for average pay ($83,554).

The place in numbers

Long Beach has 455,548 residents (ACS 2020–2024), about 1.2% of the population of California. It covers 51 square miles of land, which works out to roughly 8,990 people per square mile. The median age is 37.1, about the same as the state median (37.1 against 37.9).

Housing

The median gross rent is $1,871 a month (rent plus utilities), 8% below the state median ($1,871 against $2,036). Over a year that is 25.7% of the median household income. US housing guidance treats housing as affordable when it takes 30% of income or less, so the typical household is under that line. The median home value is $806,600, which is 9.2 times the median household income ($87,430); a ratio above 5 usually means buying is out of reach without savings or a second income. 41.2% of households own their home, 26% below the state average (41.2% against 55.9%). A low ownership share points to a rental-heavy market with more apartments and shorter stays.

Work and pay

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metropolitan area has 6,271,560 jobs in the BLS wage survey, and the median pay across all occupations is $55,850 a year, 10% above the national median ($55,850 against $50,980). The biggest occupation groups are office and administrative support (702,480 jobs, median $52,710); food preparation and serving related (588,660 jobs, median $38,460); healthcare support (537,460 jobs, median $35,630). The area is most specialised in arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (2.2 times) and healthcare support (1.7 times), where the share of workers is well above the national share. The best-paying groups with at least 5,000 jobs are management ($136,490) and legal ($128,110). In 2026M09 the unemployment rate of Los Angeles County was 4.5%. 66.2% of residents aged 16 and over are in the labour force. The city lies in Los Angeles County; its jobs, pay by industry and GDP are on the county page.

Getting around

Among workers, 66.8% drive alone, 3.8% use public transit, 2.6% walk, 16.2% work from home. 21.0% of workers commute 45 minutes or more, 8% above the state average (21.0% against 19.4%).

People and education

35.6% of adults aged 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 4% below the state share (35.6% against 37.1%). 24.8% of residents were born outside the United States, 8% below the state share (24.8% against 27.0%). The poverty rate is 14.8%, 23% above the state rate (14.8% against 12.0%).

Climate

The warmest month is Aug, averaging 75°F (23.9°C), and the coolest is Dec at 53°F (11.8°C). About 332 mm (13 inches) of precipitation falls in a year; Feb is the wettest month (75 mm) and Jun the driest (1 mm). These values come from NASA satellite-based climatology on a grid of about 50 km, so they describe the wider area, not a weather station in the city.

Nearby cities to compare

Closest cities in this guide: Lakewood (5 miles, rent 25% higher); Carson (6 miles, rent 5% higher); Bellflower (8 miles, similar rent); Compton (9 miles, rent 11% lower). Rent differences are against Long Beach; use the Compare tab to put any two cities side by side.

Full guide to Long Beach →California guideAll jobs in Long Beach

Official links for Long Beach

• Official website of Long Beach: longbeach.gov
• Census Bureau data profile for Long Beach
• Official website of Los Angeles County: lacounty.gov
• Official state website: ca.gov
• BLS Economy at a Glance: California

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Where to live

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Career paths

We could not match this title to one occupation, so here are the other sub-niches in Technology, where your skills may carry over:

Cybersecurity (762) Data, analytics and AI (3719) Cloud, IT and infrastructure (1147) Product management (927)

Distances

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The employer

Vast is the employer in this listing. See all its open jobs here →

We do not hold headcount or revenue for this employer. Check its careers site and, if it is listed on a stock exchange, its public filings (SEC EDGAR search).

What it is like to work at a company (culture, schedules, benefits) is not in the source data, so we do not describe it. Read the description and ask the questions under "How to prepare".

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Similar jobs

Same sub-niche: Software engineering

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FAQ

What is the Senior Software Engineer, Backend job at Vast?

A private-sector role in technology (software engineering) listed 195 days ago. The full description is on this page and on the employer's page.

Where is this job?

Long Beach, CA.

How do I apply?

Use the "View this job and apply on the employer's page" button. AtiveSite does not receive applications.

How much does it pay?

The listing does not publish pay, and we could not match the title to one official occupation.

What is the cost of living there?

Median rent in Long Beach is $1,871 a month and median household income $87,430 (ACS 2020–2024).

How old is this listing?

It was posted on 2026-04-28 (195 days ago). Jobs older than 90 days are not shown.

Are there similar jobs?

Yes: browse software engineering jobs in California.

Sources and terms

• Job data: Vast careers page public feed (listing dated 2026-04-28). The job disappears from this site when it disappears from the source.
• Wages and projections: BLS OEWS (May 2025) and Employment Projections 2025–35.
• City and county figures: Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024, BEA, BLS QCEW and LAUS, NASA POWER climatology; distances from Census Gazetteer coordinates.

AtiveSite is not affiliated with or endorsed by the employer or any government agency, and does not process applications. Verify every detail with the employer before acting.

Sources

• BLS OEWS (wages and employment by occupation, May 2025)
• BLS Employment Projections 2025–35
• BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
• BLS JOLTS
• BLS State and Metro Area Employment
• Census Bureau American Community Survey (via Census Reporter)
• BEA GDP by state and Regional Price Parities
• IRS 2026 tax adjustments
• U.S. Department of Labor, minimum wage by state
• Tax Foundation state income tax rates 2026
• USAJOBS
• USCIS
• U.S. Department of State, visas
• NASA POWER climatology
• GeoNames / Census Gazetteer (coordinates)