Senior Legal Counsel (Employment)

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 seeking a Senior Legal Counsel, reporting to the General Counsel, to serve as the primary legal advisor to the People Team and all business units on a full range of employment law matters. In this role you will lead employment-law strategy and compliance at Vast, advising leaders on workplace policies, managing risk, and enabling scalable, legally sound people operations as we design and build next-generation human-rated space stations.

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

Responsibilities:

Advice & Counseling

• Serve as the primary legal advisor to the People Team and all business units on the full range of employment law matters, CA wage and hour, PAGA, hiring, performance management, accommodations (ADA/ADAAA), leaves of absence (FMLA/state equivalents), compensation and pay equity, contingent workforce (e.g., staffing companies; temp/seasonal employees), and terminations.
• Provide real-time, practical, and business-oriented counsel on employee relations issues — escalations, disciplinary actions, PIPs, workplace complaints, and sensitive personnel situations.
• Advise on multi-state employment law compliance, keeping guidance current as laws change, and AI-use implications in the workplace.
• Provide guidance and counsel to employment matters pertaining to Vast global entities.

Policies, Handbooks & Compliance

• Partner with the People team to draft, review, revise, and maintain employment policies and employee handbooks to ensure legal compliance, internal consistency, and alignment with company culture.
• Monitor and translate new and evolving federal, state, and local employment legislation, regulations, and agency guidance into actionable policy updates and business recommendations.
• Assist with the annual policy review cycle and partner with HRBPs on rollout and employee communications.

Workplace Investigations Support

• Work alongside the company's in-house investigator on workplace investigations.
• Advise on investigation outcomes, corrective actions, and any resulting legal exposure.
• Help develop and refine investigation protocols, templates, and training materials.

Training & Proactive Risk Mitigation

• Develop training with People team members for managers and business leaders on topics such as anti-harassment, anti-discrimination, wage and hour, accommodations, and lawful management practices.
• Identify systemic employment risk trends and proactively recommend process, policy, or practice changes to reduce exposure.

Talent Acquisition & Hiring Support

• Partner with the Talent Acquisition team on offer letters, employment agreements, independent contractor classifications, pre-employment screening compliance (background checks, ban-the-box), non-compete/non-solicit enforceability, and onboarding documentation.
• Review and update template employment agreements, offer letter forms, and related hiring documents on a regular cadence.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in a legal role at a private company or law firm.
• Subject matter expertise in employment law at a start-up technology or high growth organization.
• JD with admission to practice law in a state bar in good standing and able to practice in-house in California.
• Familiarity with contingent workforce (e.g. staffing companies; temp/seasonal employees).
• Strong problem-solving experience and skills.
• Strong verbal and writing skills.
• Process-oriented and team player.
• Good judgment and the ability to balance risk and productivity in a business environment with competing priorities.
• Ability to work independently or collaboratively in a fast-pace environment.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Knowledge of computer applications and the ability to easily navigate through different computer software programs.
• Experience leveraging AI technology to improve work efficiency.
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment.
• Ability to make independent judgments with limited information.
• Communication skills for relaying data (verbally and in-writing) between other employees, vendors, and customers.

Additional Requirements:

• Ability to travel up to 15% of the time.
• Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones.
• Specific certifications, as appropriate.

Pay Range: California

$164,000—$232,000 USD

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.

U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS

The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore, must either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.62 or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. This status includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending.

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.