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Salary: USD 140,333 - 179,314 / annual
Varda Space Industries is accelerating commercial space infrastructure development, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable reentry capsules. The company designs, builds, and operates its W-Series vehicles in-house, including pharmaceutical processing payloads, capsules, C-PICA heat shields, and satellite buses. Varda is backed by leading investors including Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, and Founders Fund, with leadership and staff from SpaceX, Blue Origin, and major pharmaceutical companies.
The Senior Build Reliability Engineer partners closely with design and manufacturing teams to right-size processes and controls for scaling spacecraft hardware production. You will ensure production processes yield verified, reliable hardware at rate while flexing to support Quality, Flight Reliability, and Mission Assurance functions.
Key responsibilities include:
- Partner with design engineering and manufacturing teams to create test, manufacturability, and inspection plans for all vehicle hardware
- Contain suspect or non-conforming product, providing guidance to quality inspectors, technicians, shop supervisors, and engineers
- Lead failure investigations in production, test, and operation; identify and mitigate root causes to reduce risk and improve design and process reliability
- Provide critical peer review of hardware during design reviews and acceptance/qualification test campaigns
- Perform failure modes and effects analyses, build requirements compliance matrices, and ensure adequate test coverage, change management, and manufacturability of flight hardware
- Own vehicle-level deliverables for regulatory bodies including requirements compliance, functional/flight hazard analyses, and verification evidence
- Support Mission Assurance's vehicle-level risk management and identification/tracking/execution of mitigations
The ideal candidate is responsible, collaborative, and process-oriented with hands-on hardware design, test, manufacturing, and troubleshooting experience.
Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree in aerospace, computer science, electrical, manufacturing, mechanical, or material sciences engineering
- 5+ years professional experience in aerospace, design, quality, or related engineering role
- Hands-on hardware test, qualification, troubleshooting, or failure analysis experience
- Commitment to lean quality principles without compromising safety or reliability
- Demonstrated application of process controls in high-volume manufacturing, test, and quality environments
- Experience generating, processing, and analyzing technical data and test results
- Hands-on knowledge of CNC machining, additive manufacturing, casting, welding, fastening, or other special manufacturing processes
Note: ITAR requirements apply. Varda only hires "U.S. persons" (U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or individuals admitted as refugees/granted asylum) due to access to export-controlled items.
