Senior Buyer

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 Buyer reporting to the Director, Supply Chain Management, 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: End-to-End Commodity Management: Manage assigned commodities from demand to contract fulfillment. Strategic & Tactical Execution: Apply sourcing and supplier management expertise across all organizational levels. Supply Base Development: Optimize the supply base to meet long-term program needs. Cost and Risk Reduction Strategy: Develop strategies to reduce total cost, lead time, and supply chain risk. Supplier Research & Negotiation: Conduct market research, assess suppliers, issue RFQs/RFPs, and lead contract negotiations. Integrated Sourcing Strategy: Align sourcing with program, customer, product lifecycle, and in-service support strategies. Supplier Performance Management: Oversee supply/demand planning, schedule adherence, quality, on-time delivery, and cost for suppliers. Supplier Development & Improvement: Lead supplier improvement initiatives and integrate results into strategies. Value Engineering & Cost Analysis: Drive value engineering, BOM cost breakdowns, and should-cost analysis.