Senior Terrestrial Automation and Controls Engineer Verified today

About Varda

Varda is accelerating commercial space infrastructure, 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. We create both the products and infrastructure for the orbital economy.

About This Role

The Senior Automation and Controls Engineer builds bespoke test infrastructure that qualifies spaceflight hardware for orbit. You will design, build, and own sophisticated ground support equipment (GSE) and test systems, including propulsion test stands, environmental qualification chambers, and spacecraft-level integration testing. You will have meaningful impact on architecture decisions and the chance to define standards that will outlast any single program.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain test systems and ground support equipment (GSE) for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing operations.
• Integrate with 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, including evaluation of 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 on the tech stack and maintain production systems reliably.

Basic Qualifications

• 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 there.
• 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 of problems is expected.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Strong intuition for when to use real-time PLC code versus higher-level Python orchestration, and understanding of the tradeoffs.
• Experience working with custom or in-house control frameworks, rather than relying solely on vendor-provided stacks.
• Advanced EtherCAT expertise, including DC sync, ENI configuration, master implementation, or driver-level work.
• Production experience with TwinCAT 3, structured text, and the broader 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 such as Grafana, InfluxDB, or similar platforms.
• Aerospace experience, particularly in spacecraft testing or GSE development.
• Environmental test experience, including TVAC, thermal cycling, and vibration testing.
• Hands-on experience working with high-pressure gas or fluid systems.
• Experience developing propulsion test stands or other complex, multi-subsystem test infrastructure.
• Familiarity with spacecraft qualification standards and associated documentation requirements.
• Experience developing safety-related control systems and evaluating proposed solutions for reducing safety-related risks.

Compensation and Location

• Salary range: $140,333 to $179,314 per year.
• This role is on-site in El Segundo, CA.
• Eligible for incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards.

Benefits

• Flexible PTO policy 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 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 dependents.
• Substantial incentive equity in a fully funded space start-up.
• 401(k) retirement plan with 6% employer match, immediately vested.