Senior Terrestrial Mechanical Test Engineer, Automation Verified today

About Varda

Varda is accelerating commercial space infrastructure development, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable reentry capsules. The W-Series vehicles, payloads, heat shields and satellite buses are all built, designed and operated by Varda in-house. Our mission is to expand the economic bounds of humankind by creating products and infrastructure that allow space to directly benefit life on Earth.

About This Role

You will design, build and own bespoke test infrastructure that qualifies spaceflight hardware for orbit. You'll create sophisticated ground support equipment and test systems including propulsion test stands, environmental qualification chambers, and spacecraft-level integration testing rigs. Our stack is modern, built in-house around a custom PLC framework and Beckhoff EtherCAT tooling.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and maintain test systems and ground support equipment for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing, including data acquisition systems, thermal control systems, PLC cabinets, and gas/liquid systems.
• Ensure test infrastructure achieves greater than 99% uptime and predictable performance.
• Act as Responsible Engineer for test infrastructure including centrifuges, TVACs, propulsion test stands, propellant fill carts, propellant gas benches, propellant water flow stands and torch test stands.
• 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 meeting aggressive timelines.
• Read, deploy and edit Varda's internal PLC framework and EtherCAT tooling to support evolving program needs.
• Champion sustainable engineering practices enabling new engineers to ramp quickly on the tech stack and maintain production systems reliably through thorough documentation, clear procedures and schematics.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related technical field.
• 5 or more years of industry experience in mechanical design or industrial automation.
• Extensive experience using Solidworks, NX CAD or comparable.
• Experience with electrical wiring for cabinets, PLCs, harnesses and connectors.
• Experience with Altium or comparable electronic schematic design software.
• 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 industrial hardware over protocols such as EtherCAT, Modbus, 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.
• 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 low-level firmware or high-level Python.

Compensation

Salary range: $140,333 to $179,314 per year. Leveling and base salary determined by job-related skills, education, experience and job performance. You will be eligible for stock options and/or long-term cash awards.

Workplace

On-site in El Segundo, California.

Required Status

You must be a U.S. person as defined by ITAR regulations. This means you must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or an individual admitted to the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum. Varda participates in the E-Verify program.