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Salary: USD 140,333 - 179,314 / annual
Varda Space Industries is building commercial space infrastructure, including in-orbit pharmaceutical processing systems, reentry capsules, heat shields, and satellite buses. The company operates end-to-end, designing and manufacturing all components in-house.
As Senior Space Mission Operations Engineer, you will lead Varda's on-orbit mission operations for the Winnie Spaceship and establish the operational framework for space missions. This is a hands-on leadership role where you own the complete operations development cycle—from mission profile creation through execution—for mission-unique payloads.
Key responsibilities include:
- Develop, coordinate, execute, and lead on-orbit missions
- Own the full ops development cycle for mission-unique payloads, from creation of mission profiles through execution
- Work cross-functionally across engineering teams to continuously improve mission operations and ensure mission success
- Automate and eliminate operational burden by building web tools
- Scale Varda's operational capabilities to support growing flight cadence
You will be an exceptional communicator and adept leader—a jack-of-all-trades capable of applying cross-discipline engineering to bespoke solutions. This startup role offers the opportunity to fully own on-orbit operations and mold a unique new mission framework for space operations.
Varda is headquartered in El Segundo, CA, with additional offices in Washington, DC and Huntsville, AL. The company was founded in 2021 by Will Bruey and Delian Asparouhov, backed by Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, General Catalyst, and Also Capital. The team includes veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, major pharmaceutical companies, and Silicon Valley.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline (preferably Aerospace, Electrical, or Computer Science)
- 5+ years of experience in a real-time operations role on a complex, high-consequence operation
- 3+ years of experience developing software tools in Python, JavaScript, and/or HTML
- Familiarity with Avionics, GNC (Guidance, Navigation, and Control), Software, and Thermal design practices for spacecraft
PREFERRED:
- 5+ years of experience with spacecraft systems
- Previous operator experience in a leadership role
- Previous in-orbit spacecraft operations experience
- Previous experience with Git and Atlassian products
- Familiarity with ground station networks
Note: This role requires U.S. person status (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)) due to access to export-controlled items.
