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Salary: USD 140,333 - 179,314 / annual
Varda Space Industries is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to serve as the primary architect for mission safety and reentry compliance within the Mission Assurance team. You will lead the development of Flight Safety Analysis and the regulatory strategy required for FAA Part 450 and Range Safety licensing. This is a highly cross-functional role bridging complex engineering trades and regulatory approval processes.
Key Responsibilities:
- Own the technical regulatory strategy, Means of Compliance, and safety cases for FAA launch and reentry authorizations
- Own vehicle-level functional hazard analyses (FHA) and failure mode and effect analyses (FMEA)
- Maintain Expected Casualty and debris risk models to ensure all mission phases meet regulatory safety thresholds
- Establish technical safety limits and mission rules for real-time on-console operations
- Deliver vehicle-level documentation to regulatory organizations in support of mission reentry licenses and authorizations
- Act as the Flight Safety responsible engineer during mission rehearsals and live recovery operations
About Varda: Founded in 2021, Varda is accelerating commercial space infrastructure development, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable reentry capsules. The company designs and operates W-Series vehicles in-house, including pharmaceutical processing payloads, capsules, C-PICA heat shields, and satellite buses. Leadership and staff include veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, major pharmaceutical companies, and Silicon Valley. Backed by Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, and other top-tier investors. Headquarters in El Segundo, CA, with additional offices in Washington, DC and Huntsville, AL.
Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, manufacturing, systems engineering, or related field
- Minimum 5 years of relevant aerospace engineering experience, with prior involvement in mission assurance, flight safety, or senior systems engineering roles
- Demonstrated experience with FAA Part 450, expected casualty modeling, trajectory dispersion, and/or debris analysis
- Excellent communication skills with ability to influence cross-functional teams and present to executives, customers, and regulators
- Strong experience with risk management methodologies and tools (FMEA, FHA, Fault Tree Analysis)
- Experience with integration of interdisciplinary systems in the aerospace industry
- ITAR requirement: Must be a U.S. person (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or individual admitted as refugee/granted asylum)
Preferred:
- Demonstrated safety-critical mission operations experience in aviation or space applications
- Proven experience navigating FCC Part 25 (Commercial) or Part 5 (Experimental) licensing processes for satellite and reentry communications
- Dedication to lean quality approaches without compromising safety or reliability
