Principal Fluid Systems Engineer - Payloads Verified today

About Varda

Varda accelerates commercial space infrastructure development, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable reentry capsules. Varda's W-Series vehicles are built, designed, and operated in-house, including pharmaceutical processing payloads, capsules, C-PICA heat shields, and satellite buses.

Our team includes veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, major pharmaceutical companies, and Silicon Valley. We are headquartered in El Segundo, California, with offices in Washington, DC and Huntsville, AL.

The Role

As Principal Fluid Systems Engineer on the Payload team, you will define and lead development of electromechanical fluid handling hardware that manufactures pharmaceuticals in microgravity, endures hypersonic reentry, and returns to Earth for material extraction. Your payloads will precisely meter, mix, filter, transport, and thermally control pharmaceutical materials in compact spacecraft-compatible hardware.

You will shape the architecture and technical direction for pharmaceutical payloads, guiding project teams from requirements synthesis through development, on-orbit operation, recovery, and iteration for future missions.

You will collaborate closely with pharmaceutical scientists, process engineers, internal leadership, and spacecraft subsystem teams to translate mission objectives into qualified hardware that flies in months, not years.

Responsibilities

• Define requirements, architecture, and development plans for pharmaceutical manufacturing payloads
• Establish fluid system design standards for component selection and qualification, sealing, contamination control, thermal control, and verification and validation
• Lead project teams to develop precision fluid systems incorporating valves, pumps, pistons, manifolds, tubing, fittings, seals, filters, sensors, and thermal control systems
• Drive system-level analyses, trade studies, and risk reduction using hand calculations, Python, MATLAB models, FEA, and other tools as needed
• Lead build and test campaigns for prototypes and flight hardware to characterize performance and reliability
• Synthesize cross-functional inputs from business development, pharmaceutical science, process engineering, and spacecraft subsystem teams to develop requirements for new payloads
• Develop standards for subsystem requirements, interface control documents, verification plans, test reports, and recovery procedures
• Represent Varda in technical discussions with internal leadership, external partners, customers, and government stakeholders
• Lead continuous improvement and incorporation of lessons learned
• Mentor senior and entry-level engineers and shape best practices

Basic Qualifications

• BS or BEng in Mechanical, Aerospace, Mechatronics, Biomedical, Chemical, or related engineering discipline
• 7 or more years of experience designing, integrating, testing, and troubleshooting electromechanical hardware
• Deep mechanical and fluid systems expertise with breadth in at least two adjacent disciplines such as avionics, software, thermal, optics, test, or precision instrumentation
• Track record leading project teams through full-cycle electromechanical space flight hardware development
• Extensive experience with valves, pumps, pistons, tubing, manifolds, fittings, seals, filters, sensors, metering hardware, thermal-control hardware, and compact fluidic assemblies
• Excellent communication skills with customer, executive, and cross-disciplinary technical audiences

Preferred Skills and Experience

• 3 or more years of cross-functional project leadership experience
• Prior full-cycle technical leadership of precision fluid-handling hardware for relevant applications in space (ECLSS, low-thrust propulsion, astronaut suits, spacecraft thermal control) or on Earth (semiconductor process equipment, biotech process equipment, analytical instruments, medical devices)
• Extensive experience planning and executing aerospace environmental testing such as vibration, TVAC, and EMI/EMC
• Familiarity with microgravity fluid behavior, capillary-driven flows, gas-liquid separation, two-phase flow, cGMP principles, cleanroom practices, or regulated hardware environments

Compensation and Location

Salary range: 181,913 to 232,444 per year. This role is on-site in El Segundo, California. 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 long-term cash awards.

Benefits

Health and Wellness

• Flexible PTO policy plus 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 dollars per month wellness reimbursement for gym and fitness expenses
• 12 weeks of parental leave with supplemental disability leave for California mothers
• Family building, pregnancy, parenting, and menopause benefits via Maven Clinic
• Sponsored One Medical memberships for employees and their dependents

Financial and Retirement

• Substantial incentive equity in a fully funded space start-up
• 401k retirement plan with 6% employer match, immediately vested
• 20 dollars per pay period cell phone reimbursement
• Relocation support for new hires, if needed