Communications Associate

Responsibilities

• Draft and send media pitches for company news
• Build and maintain media lists and reporter relationships across space, technology, and business beats
• Field and log inbound media inquiries and route them to the Director with a recommended response
• Monitor daily coverage of Vast, competitors, customers, and partners; flag items needing a same-day response
• Own the annual calendar of conference speaking opportunities and industry awards, including deadlines, requirements, and outcomes
• Draft speaker abstracts, executive bios, and award nominations; gather supporting data from engineering, program, and business development teams
• Route drafts through technical, legal, and export-control review and track approvals to close
• Maintain messaging documents and keep them current with company’s latest offerings and news
• Manage timelines and status for communications projects and keep stakeholders informed of deliverables

Requirements

• 3+ years of experience in corporate communications, public relations, journalism, or an agency setting
• Demonstrated media relations experience, including pitches that resulted in earned coverage
• Writing samples across at least two formats (e.g., media pitch, press release, speaker abstract, award nomination)
• Bachelor’s degree

Preferred

• Experience in communications within the aerospace, technology, or hardware industries
• Familiarity with the space industry press, conference circuit, and major industry awards
• Experience drafting speaker abstracts or award nominations that were accepted
• Ability to translate technical engineering detail for general and trade audiences
• Ability to make independent judgments with limited information and work with minimal guidance
• Strong verbal and written communication skills for working across engineering, business development, legal, and leadership teams
• Project management skills, juggling competing deadlines and ability to track down outstanding answers independently
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment balancing several projects at any given time, with the flexibility to adjust for changes in direction

Benefits

• 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
• 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.