Staff Data Architect

Vast is looking for a Staff Data Architect, reporting to the Senior Director of Information Systems, to support the development of the data infrastructure and AI-driven capabilities 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, architect, and implement scalable enterprise data infrastructure including data lakes, warehouses, and real-time streaming platforms
• Build and maintain robust data pipelines that feed internal AI/ML tools and enable advanced analytics across all departments
• Own end-to-end data architecture from ingestion through transformation to consumption, ensuring data quality, reliability, and security
• Integrate data from complex engineering systems (PLM/Teamcenter), manufacturing systems (MES/MOM), ERP (NetSuite), IoT/sensor networks and other enterprise systems
• Create innovative data solutions that enable AI/ML capabilities for engineering analysis, manufacturing optimization, and supply chain intelligence
• Establish data governance frameworks, standards, and best practices across the organization
• Implement MLOps infrastructure to support model training, deployment, and monitoring
• Build real-time data pipelines from shop floor systems, test equipment, and operational technology (OT) environments
• Collaborate with Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and business teams to understand data requirements and deliver BI/AI-ready datasets
• Lead and mentor a high-performing data engineering team, establishing technical standards and fostering a culture of extreme ownership
• Evaluate and implement cutting-edge data technologies including cloud-native services, vector databases, and modern data stack tools
• Optimize data pipelines for performance, cost-efficiency, and scalability
• Implement monitoring, alerting, observability, and disaster recovery capabilities for mission-critical data systems
• Provide technical leadership and strategic guidance on data architecture to executive leadership

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent work experience
• 8+ years of hands-on experience in data engineering, data architecture, or related fields
• 3+ years of experience in a technical leadership role leading data engineering teams or initiatives
• Proven track record of building enterprise-scale data infrastructure and production data pipelines
• Expert-level proficiency in SQL and Python
• Deep hands-on experience with cloud data platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and associated data services
• Strong experience with modern data processing frameworks (Apache Spark, Kafka, Airflow, or equivalent)
• Demonstrated experience with data warehousing technologies (Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Redshift, or similar)
• Experience supporting AI/ML initiatives with production-grade data pipelines and infrastructure

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Experience in manufacturing, aerospace, defense, or hardware-intensive industries
• Backgrou