Salary Range: Senior (typically 3–6+ years): $140,333 – $179,314/per year
Principal (typically 6–10+ years): $181,913 – $232,444/per year
Employer job description
From Varda Space Industries's posting. “We” and “our” refer to the employer.
About Varda
Low Earth orbit is open for business. Varda is accelerating the development of commercial space infrastructure, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules.
Varda’s W-Series vehicles are built, designed, and operated by Varda in-house, including the pharmaceutical processing payloads, the capsules, the C-PICA heat shields, and the satellite buses.
From life-saving pharmaceuticals to more powerful fiber optics, there is a world of products used on Earth today that can only be manufactured in space. Varda is accelerating innovation in the orbital economy by creating both the products and infrastructure needed so space can directly benefit life on Earth. Our mission is to expand the economic bounds of humankind.
Our team is uniquely suited to accomplishing this goal, with leadership and staff comprised of veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, major pharmaceutical companies and Silicon Valley. Varda was founded in January 2021 by Will Bruey and Delian Asparouhov with significant backing from world class investors including Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, General Catalyst, and Also Capital.
Varda is headquartered in El Segundo, California, where we have offices and a production facility where our vehicles, equipment, and materials are built, integrated, and tested. Varda also has offices in Washington, DC and Huntsville, AL.
Join Varda, and work to create a bustling in-space ecosystem.
About This Role
Varda is hiring an experienced
Propulsion Components Engineer to join the team that designs, builds, tests, and flies the fluid components on the W-Series satellite bus and future vehicles. The W-Series satellite incorporates a high-test hydrogen peroxide (HTP) and hydrocarbon bipropellant propulsion system with high-pressure inert gas pressurization and cold-gas attitude control.
The component portfolio spans each of these fluid subsystems and includes solenoid control valves, check valves, relief valves, burst disks, fluid filters, regulators, manually operated service valves, machined fluid manifolds, and instrumentation including pressure transducers and RTDs. A successful candidate will take on a significant share of the component ownership for these mission-critical hardware articles as responsible engineer, helping expand component capabilities, improve reliability, and increase flight cadence.
Many current Varda components are purchased parts, and you will be a primary technical interface to our suppliers. Varda also intends to bring more component design in-house for current and future vehicles, and you will help lead that transition: shaping make-versus-buy decisions, executing detailed design, and standing up the capabilities to develop, qualify, produce, acceptance test, and fly Varda-owned parts.
As part of a broad, multi-disciplinary engineering team, you will interface daily with propulsion systems, structures, production, thermal, avionics, and GNC engineers and technicians. You will inherit an operational, well-documented component baseline and drive improvements alongside the team. The role is hands-on: test stand development and operations, production floor support, occasional supplier visits, and issue or anomaly investigations as required. Bring your experience and passion, and let’s build something amazing.
Open to Senior or Principal level candidates.
Responsibilities
Serve as responsible engineer for a significant portion of the bus propulsion component portfolio, from requirements and specification generation through development, qualification, production, and flight, in partnership with the broader engineering team
Design Varda-owned propulsion components: CAD, detailed drawings with GD&T per ASME Y14.5, tolerance analysis, seal and spring design, and supporting structural and fluid analysis
Specify, source, and qualify purchased components; serve as a technical lead with suppliers, review qualification and acceptance data, and drive corrective action and/or second sourcing
Author and execute acceptance and qualification test (ATP/QTP) campaigns per SMC-S-016; characterize component performance across the pressure and temperature envelope and feed results back into system requirements; document results with clear test reports
Support vehicle build, integration and test, and flight operations: disposition nonconformances and lead component issue or anomaly investigations to root cause and closure
Represent your components in design reviews, FMEAs, hazard analyses, and range safety interactions; contribute to the shared component knowledge base, qualification records, and lessons learned
Mentor engineers and help set the component design and test standards the propulsion team relies and builds on Basic Qualifications
B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related discipline; equivalent professional experience considered (typically 3–6+ years)
3+ years of hands-on experience designing, qualifying, or owning fluid components (valves, regulators, filters, burst disks, manifolds, transducers) for spacecraft, launch vehicles, or comparable high-pressure hardware, on either the vehicle or the component-supplier side (typically 6+ years for Principal)
Working understanding of component design fundamentals: sealing, force balance, spring sizing, friction, flow paths, materials compatibility, material finishes, and wear
Mechanical design proficiency: CAD, assembly management using PLM software, detailed drawings with GD&T per ASME Y14.5, and tolerance analysis
Experience with component pressure and leak testing and ATP/QTP execution per SMC-S-016 or an equivalent standard, including authoring procedures and establishing pass/fail criteria
Hands-on experience building and testing pressurized hardware alongside technicians
Proven record of technical ownership: driving nonconformances and anomalies to root cause and corrective action across teams and suppliers
Willingness to travel to suppliers and test sites as needed (typically < 10% of time)
Preferred Skills and Experience
6+ years of spacecraft or launch vehicle fluid component experience, including clean-sheet design of a valve, regulator, or similar component through qualification and flight (typically 6–10+ years for Principal)
Experience with low-leakage, on-orbit propulsion components and with HTP, other strong oxidizers, or high-pressure gas systems
Analysis skills for component design: FEA of pressure-containing parts, 1D fluid network modeling, valve dynamics, and fatigue and fracture control
Electromechanical and instrumentation fundamentals: solenoid valve coil and driver interfaces, and pressure transducer and RTD calibration, excitation, and error budgets
Supplier management for COTS and build-to-print aerospace components: source selection, audits, and data package review
Familiarity with AIAA S-080 and S-081 and AFSPCMAN 91-710 range safety requirements
Knowledge of precision manufacturing and inspection for fluid hardware: machining and deburring, welding, electropolish, precision cleaning, CMM, and NDE
Experience standing up testing capabilities for propulsion components (dev, qual, ATP), particularly in a high-cadence, high component throughput environment.
Prior experience leading a technical sub-discipline, formally or informally, and developing engineering standards within a propulsion organization
Exceptional technical communication skills, precision and clarity in specifications, test procedures, data package reviews, and engineering memos
Pay Range
Compensation
Salary Range:
Senior (typically 3–6+ years): $140,333 – $179,314/per year
Principal (typically 6–10+ years): $181,913 – $232,444/per year
This role is on-site in El Segundo, CA
Leveling and base salary is determined by job-related skills, education level, experience level, and job performance
You will be eligible for incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards
Benefits
Consider your benefits covered for launch.
At Varda, we invest in benefits and perks that support your health, financial well-being, and life beyond work. Benefits vary by position, with packages designed specifically for our regular full-time employees and interns.
Regular Full-Time Positions: Health & Wellness
Flexible PTO policy + 12 paid holidays
100% company-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans for employees and dependents with FSA and employer-matched HSA options
Voluntary accident, hospital, critical illness, and pet insurance
$120/month wellness reimbursement for gym and fitness expenses
12 weeks of parental leave (with supplemental disability leave for CA mothers)
Family building, pregnancy, parenting and menopause benefits via Maven Clinic
Sponsored One Medical memberships for employees and their dependents
Financial & Retirement
Substantial incentive equity in a fully funded space start-up
401(k) retirement plan with 6% employer match (immediately vested)
$20/pay period cell phone reimbursement
Relocation support for new hires, if needed
Workplace Experience & Perks
Fully stocked kitchen with lunch provided daily and dinner provided twice weekly
Company and team-bonding events, happy hours and mission-success celebrations
Complimentary EV charging
Intern Positions: Health & Wellness
Paid observed holidays
100% company-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans for employees and dependents with FSA and employer-matched HSA options
$120/month wellness reimbursement for gym and fitness expenses
Sponsored One Medical memberships for employees and their dependents
Financial
$20/pay period cell phone reimbursement
Up to $4,000 gross up in relocation support, if eligible
Up to $850 commute credit through Lyft or car rental reimbursement, if eligible
Workplace Experience & Perks
Fully stocked kitchen with lunch provided daily and dinner provided twice weekly
Company and team-bonding events, happy hours and mission-success celebrations
Complimentary EV charging
ITAR Requirements
Varda, like all employers, must ensure that its employees working in the United States are lawfully authorized to work in the U.S. Additionally, our employees are exposed to and have access to certain export-controlled items. Because our employees are provided access to export-controlled items, our policy is to only hire “U.S. persons” who are permitted to have access to our technology without an export license.
“US person” means: U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) (i.e., individual admitted to the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum).
E-Verify Statement
Varda Space Industries, Inc. participates in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security E-Verify program. The E-Verify program is an Internet-based employment eligibility verification system operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Learn more about the E-Verify program.
E-Verify Notice Right To Work Notice
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Varda Space Industries is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Candidates and employees are always evaluated based on merit, qualifications, and performance. We will never discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, martial status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.
About this listing
LAYIQ is an independent job-discovery service. This listing does not imply a partnership with or endorsement by the employer. Review the original posting for current details and availability.
