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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 and reentry capsules. The company designs, manufactures, and operates its W-Series vehicles end-to-end, including propulsion systems, heat shields, and satellite buses.
The Senior Mechanical Test Engineer, Automation will design, build, and own sophisticated ground support equipment (GSE) and test systems that qualify spaceflight hardware for orbit. This role is central to enabling high-cadence production and includes responsibility for propulsion test stands, environmental qualification chambers, spacecraft-level integration testing, and custom automation infrastructure built on modern tooling including in-house PLC frameworks and Beckhoff EtherCAT systems.
Key responsibilities include:
- Design, build, and maintain test systems and GSE for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing, including data acquisition systems, thermal control systems (chillers, heaters, liquid nitrogen), PLC cabinets, and gas/liquid systems (valves, transducers, solenoids, flowmeters).
- Achieve >99% uptime and predictable performance across test infrastructure.
- Serve as the Responsible Engineer for test infrastructure including centrifuges, TVACs (thermal vacuum chambers), propulsion test stands, propulsion fill carts, propulsion gas benches, propulsion water flow stands, and torch test stands.
- Build electrical cabinets, wire panels, and own systems end-to-end from electrical design through commissioning.
- Partner with propulsion, avionics, guidance/navigation/control, and manufacturing teams to deliver test infrastructure on aggressive timelines.
- Read, deploy, and make minor edits to Varda's internal PLC framework and EtherCAT tooling to support evolving program needs.
- Champion sustainable engineering practices that enable rapid onboarding and reliable maintenance of production systems through thorough documentation, clear procedures, and accessible schematics.
Integrate mechanical, electrical, fluid, and instrumentation systems into cohesive test platforms. Manage both rapid R&D test setups and long-term test infrastructure improvements.
Varda is headquartered in El Segundo, California, with additional offices in Washington, DC and Huntsville, Alabama. The company was founded in 2021 by Will Bruey and Delian Asparouhov and is backed by investors including Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, General Catalyst, and Also Capital.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related technical field.
- 5+ years of industry experience in mechanical design or industrial automation.
- Extensive experience using Solidworks, NX CAD, or comparable CAD software.
- Experience with electrical wiring for cabinets, PLCs, harnesses, connectors, and related components.
- Experience with Altium or comparable electronic schematic design software (company is migrating to EPLAN).
- Hands-on experience working with high-pressure gas or fluid systems.
- Environmental test experience, including TVAC, thermal cycling, and vibration testing.
- Experience developing propulsion test stands or other complex, multi-subsystem test infrastructure.
- 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 in this area.
- Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced startup environment where priorities shift and end-to-end ownership of problems is expected.
PREFERRED:
- Aerospace experience, particularly in spacecraft testing or GSE development.
- Familiarity with spacecraft qualification standards and associated documentation requirements.
- Experience developing safety-related control systems and evaluating proposed solutions for reducing safety-related risks.
- Programming experience in either low-level firmware or high-level Python.
Note: This role requires U.S. person status (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or individual admitted as refugee/granted asylum) due to ITAR export-control requirements.
