Senior Spacecraft Systems Engineer, Flight Safety Verified today

About Varda

Varda is accelerating commercial space infrastructure development, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable reentry capsules. Our W-Series vehicles are designed, built, and operated in-house, including pharmaceutical processing payloads, capsules, C-PICA heat shields, and satellite buses. We create the products and infrastructure for space-based manufacturing to benefit life on Earth.

The Role

Join our Mission Assurance team as Senior Spacecraft Systems Engineer for Flight Safety. You will serve as the primary architect for mission safety and reentry compliance, leading development of Flight Safety Analysis and regulatory strategy for FAA Part 450 and Range Safety licensing. This highly cross-functional role bridges complex engineering trades and regulatory approval. From defining safety-critical verification artifacts during design to supporting live on-console operations, you will ensure our flight hardware is verified and reentry methodologies are mathematically sound.

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
• Responsible for vehicle-level deliverables to regulatory organizations in service of mission reentry licenses and authorizations
• Act as the Flight Safety responsible engineer during mission rehearsals and live recovery operations

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, manufacturing, systems engineering or related field
• Minimum 5 years of relevant aerospace engineering experience, with a previous role involving mission assurance, flight safety, or senior systems engineering
• Demonstrated experience with FAA Part 450, expected casualty modeling, trajectory dispersion, and/or debris analysis
• Excellent communication skills with the 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

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Demonstrated safety critical mission operations in aviation or space applications
• Proven experience navigating the FCC Part 25 (Commercial) or Part 5 (Experimental) licensing process for satellite and reentry communications
• Dedicated to adopting a lean approach to quality without compromising safety or reliability

Compensation and Benefits

Salary range: $140,333 to $179,314 per year, determined by job-related skills, education, experience, and performance. You will be eligible for incentives in the form of stock options and long-term cash awards.

Regular full-time benefits include: flexible PTO plus 12 paid holidays; 100% company-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance for employees and dependents with FSA and employer-matched HSA options; voluntary accident, hospital, critical illness, and pet insurance; $120/month wellness reimbursement; 12 weeks parental leave with supplemental disability leave for California mothers; family building and parenting benefits via Maven Clinic; sponsored One Medical memberships; substantial incentive equity; 401(k) with 6% immediate employer match; $20/pay period cell phone reimbursement; relocation support for new hires; fully stocked kitchen with daily lunch and twice-weekly dinner.

Location

On-site in El Segundo, California.