Senior Program Operations Engineer

Long Beach · USD 133,446-189,429 · 5+ years experience · Full-time · Onsite · Posted Oct 14, 2026

At a glance

Vast is seeking a Senior Program Operations Engineer reporting to Director, Technical Projects, to lead operations and long range strategic planning and initiatives on behalf of the program team.
You will work closely with cross-functional teams and define program requirements to align program goals and objectives to company operating plans.
Your primary responsibility is to ensure successful scaling of the business to ensure program success.

Create and own the program manifest for Haven Station programs and all associated long range and strategic planning
Define and own the program operational requirements that drive company operational targets (headcount projections, CapEx projections, engineering development assets, etc.)
Work closely with stakeholders (Finance, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, Facilities, People Teams, etc.) to achieve operational targets
Lead initiatives and projects to achieve program and operational targets
Prepare and generate the necessary analytics and dashboards; report progress on a regular basis (monthly and/or quarterly)
Apply first principles approach to problem solving, conflict resolution, and decision making
Demonstrate and lead with urgency across all initiatives

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering, or related field
5+ years of demonstrated successful contributions in engineering, program operations, program or project management, or corporate and business strategy
Demonstrated successful contributions to end-to-end product lifecycle management
Experience with project management and reporting tools (i.e., MS Project, SmartSheet, JIRA, Confluence)
Demonstrated NPI expertise and understanding of product lifecycle management (from cradle-to-grave)

Master’s degree in engineering or related field. MBA with a focus on operations or strategy is a plus
Demonstrated examples in scaling a successful program or products to market as a technical contributor or lead
Demonstrated experience in fields of engineering, manufacturing operations, operations management, and business strategy
Familiarity with lean and six-sigma methodologies and business finance principles
Experience in transitioning products from low to high volume production
Delivery of aerospace, defense, or flight hardware is preferred but not required
Ability to think strategically and execute cross-disciplinary tactical plans

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
food perks, with snacks, drip coffee & onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge, and lunch subsidized