Pre-Sales Engineer

Vast is looking for a Pre-Sales Engineer, reporting to the SVP, Satellite Business Development & Commercialization, to support our Satellite Business Development team as the technical bridge between our engineering organization and prospective customers. This role is the trusted technical voice in the room during customer discussions  translating system-level engineering tradeoffs (propulsion, payload, power, performance) into terms customers can act on, running and interpreting our proprietary simulation and performance tools to answer real-time technical questions, and representing engineering's perspective in public and customer-facing forums. You'll work closely with system leads across the satellite business and be a key partner to Business Development throughout the sales cycle, from first technical conversation through proposal and close.

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

Responsibilities:

Serve as a trusted technical advisor to prospective and current customers, fielding and answering system-level engineering questions in real time during calls, meetings, and site visits

Represent the engineering organization in customer-facing settings, industry conferences, and public speaking engagements, ensuring engineering perspective and technical credibility are present throughout the business development process

Work closely with system engineering leads across propulsion, payload, and other subsystems to translate technical capability, performance, and constraints into customer-ready material and answers

Operate and apply Vast's simulation tools to model satellite performance, power dynamics, and other system-level tradeoffs in support of customer proposals and technical discussions

Partner with Business Development throughout the sales cycle to shape technical proposals, respond to RFIs/RFPs, and ensure proposed solutions are technically sound and achievable

Contribute to the ongoing development and refinement of internal simulation and analysis tools used to support customer-facing technical engagements

Apply AI tools and techniques to accelerate technical analysis, proposal development, and customer-facing deliverables

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or other engineering discipline

Demonstrated experience partnering with or operating alongside system engineering leads (e.g., propulsion, payload) on complex technical systems

Some proficiency building or working with simulation/analysis tools evaluating system performance, power dynamics, or similar engineering tradeoffs

Proficiency with AI tools and their application to engineering or analysis workflows

Strong customer-facing and interpersonal skills; comfortable operating as a trusted technical advisor in front of customers

Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to translate complex engineering concepts for non-technical or mixed audiences

Ability to work independently and cross-functionally in a fast-paced environment

Preferred Skills & Experience:

Experience with facilities within an aerospace industry

Familiar with space planning procedures and operations

Knowledge of computer applications and the ability to easily navigate through different computer software programs

Ability to create and update request for proposals (RFPs), purchase orders (POs) and facilities work orders in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software

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

Logical and strategic approach to solving problems

Ability to read and understand basic floor plans

Comfortable working in a high-stress environment balancing several projects at any given time, and the flexibility to adjust for abrupt changes in strategic direction

Additional Requirements:

Ability to travel up to 50% of the time

Willingness to work overtime, or weekends to support critical mission milestones

Ability to lift up to 25lbs unassisted

Specific certifications, as appropriate

Pay Range: California

$112,000—$195,000 USD