Staff Software Engineer, AI Tooling

About the Role

Vast is looking for a Staff Software Engineer, AI Tooling 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

• Define the technical direction and long-term roadmap for Vast's internal AI platforms and tooling
• Architect and lead the development of full-stack AI applications that serve diverse use-cases across the company
• Establish engineering best practices, design patterns, and quality standards for AI systems development
• Build and maintain production-grade integrations connecting AI models with internal tools, data sources, and workflows
• Design and implement pipelines for AI response enforcement, content safety, and output formatting
• Drive the evaluation and adoption of emerging AI frameworks, models, and patterns to continuously improve internal tooling
• Collaborate cross-functionally with IT Infrastructure, security, and business stakeholders to integrate AI tooling with existing systems
• Mentor and guide other engineers contributing to AI initiatives, fostering a culture of technical excellence
• Ensure the reliability, observability, and scalability of production AI systems
• Rapidly iterate on AI tooling as the technology landscape and company needs evolve

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, math, an engineering discipline, or equivalent work experience
• 8+ years of software development or relevant industry experience
• Proven track record of leading technical initiatives from concept through production deployment
• Strong full-stack development proficiency with experience across both frontend and backend systems
• Deep understanding of AI/ML concepts, large language model architectures, prompt engineering, and modern AI tooling patterns
• Demonstrated experience implementing and maintaining production applications at scale
• Experience establishing engineering best practices and providing technical mentorship
• Strong cross-functional communication skills with the ability to translate technical concepts for diverse audiences

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Experience with Python and TypeScript in production environments
• Experience with Svelte or SvelteKit
• Experience with OpenWebUI or similar open-source AI interface platforms
• Experience building or integrating MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers and gateways
• Experience with LLM API integration and AI pipeline development
• Experience with containerization and deployment (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Familiarity with RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) patterns and vector databases
• Experience building or leading AI/ML platforms at scale
• Prior experience as a tech lead or in a similar engineering leadership role
• Experience working in fast-paced, ambiguous environments with evolving requirements

Additional Requirements

• Ability to travel up to 10% of the time
• Willingness to work evenings and/or weekends to support critical mission milestones
• Ability to lift up to 25 lbs unassisted

Pay

Pay Range: California $159,900—$267,700 USD. Base salary will vary depending on job-related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand.

Benefits

• Company equity for full-time employees
• 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
• Other discounts and perks
• Free snacks, drip coffee & onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals
• Subsidized lunch