After completing his master's degree in Microtechnology at the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne in 1989 he worked as a Project Manager at Mecanex SA, a Swiss High-Tech company active in the field of Aerospace Mechanisms. While working at Mecanex he completed a PhD in Science in the field of applied Micro-Systems Technologies at the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland in 1994.
In 1995, Volker Gass participated in the Management Buy Out of Mecanex SA. In 2000, Mecanex was acquired by the Swiss Defense and Technology group RUAG. He was appointed to lead Customer Relations and Business Development of the newly formed Systems & Space Division at RUAG Aerospace in 2004. In the same year he was appointed member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences for his contribution in the field of High-Technology Space applications. From November 2006 to June 2007, Volker Gass successfully graduated RUAG's Top Leadership Course, and held the position of General Manager, Sales & Marketing in the Space Division of RUAG in Switzerland as well as Member of the Board of Directors (President) of Mecanex USA Inc., Berlin, CT, until December 2009.
In 2008 he led the merger and Aquisitions at RUAG Space. From mid-2009 to September 2011 he was responsible for Special Projects in the Marketing & Sales Organization of RUAG Space Switzerland.
Since October 2011, Dr. Volker Gass is nominated Director of the Swiss Space Center at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, (the Swiss Space Center is renamed "Space Innovation" in January 2021). In March 2012, he is awarded the title of Adjunct Professor at the School of Engineering (STI) of the EPFL. From January 2014 to December 2017, he was nominated member of ESA's Human Spaceflight and Exploration Science Advisory Committee (HESAC) and from spring 2015 to December 2018, observer at ESA's Earth Science Advisory Committee (ESAC).
On September 1, 2021, Volker Gass was appointed visiting Professor at MIT AeroAstro, working with Prof. Oli de Weck on System Engineering and the New Space Economy
From 2022 t0 2026, he served as Director Strategic Initiatives in EPFL's Vice-Presidency for Innovation, maintaining his activities in Space Innovation.
As of October 2027, Volker Gass is appointed Special Advisor to the Dean for Dual-Use and Space Strategy - STI