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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 reentry capsules. The company designs and operates W-Series vehicles end-to-end, including payloads, capsules, heat shields, and satellite buses, with headquarters in El Segundo, CA and additional offices in Washington, DC and Huntsville, AL.
The Senior Automation and Controls Engineer designs, builds, and maintains sophisticated test infrastructure and ground support equipment (GSE) that qualifies spaceflight hardware for orbit. This role owns the full lifecycle of test systems—from propulsion test stands and environmental qualification chambers to spacecraft-level integration testing—and has meaningful impact on architecture decisions that will define standards for future programs.
Key responsibilities include:
- Design, build, and maintain test systems and GSE for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing operations
- Integrate with diverse external hardware including thermal vacuum chambers, ovens, chillers, pressure systems, data acquisition hardware, and precision instrumentation
- Develop and extend Varda's internal PLC framework and EtherCAT tooling to support evolving program needs
- Contribute to architecture decisions on real-time control implementation, evaluating PLC-based (TwinCAT 3) versus Linux-based approaches for high-frequency control applications
- Build cabinets, wire panels, and own systems end-to-end from electrical design through commissioning
- Partner with propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing teams to deliver test infrastructure on aggressive timelines
- Champion sustainable engineering practices that enable new engineers to ramp quickly and maintain production systems reliably
The tech stack is modern and in-house: custom PLC framework, Beckhoff EtherCAT tooling, TwinCAT 3, and structured text (IEC 61131-3). This is a hands-on role requiring comfort across the full stack—electrical panel design, cabinet wiring, hardware debugging, and control software development.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related technical field
- 5+ years of industry experience in test automation, controls, and/or industrial automation
- Hands-on experience integrating with industrial hardware over protocols such as EtherCAT, Modbus (TCP/RTU), RS-232/485 serial, or similar communication standards
- Experience with at least one modern PLC ecosystem—ideally Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 with structured text (IEC 61131-3), or demonstrated eagerness to develop deep expertise
- Comfort working across the full stack: designing electrical panels, wiring cabinets, debugging hardware, and writing control software
- Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced startup environment where priorities shift and end-to-end ownership is expected
PREFERRED SKILLS:
- Strong intuition for when to use real-time PLC code versus higher-level Python orchestration
- Experience working with custom or in-house control frameworks
- Advanced EtherCAT expertise (DC sync, ENI configuration, master implementation, driver-level work)
- Production experience with TwinCAT 3, structured text, and IEC 61131-3 language suite
- Experience designing deterministic, hard real-time control loops with sub-millisecond cycle times
- Familiarity with time-series data acquisition and visualization tools (Grafana, InfluxDB, or similar)
- Aerospace experience, particularly in spacecraft testing or GSE development
- Environmental test experience (TVAC, thermal cycling, vibration testing)
- Hands-on experience with high-pressure gas or fluid systems
- Experience developing propulsion test stands or complex multi-subsystem test infrastructure
- Familiarity with spacecraft qualification standards and documentation requirements
- Experience developing safety-related control systems
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.
