Senior Mechanisms Engineer

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. 

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 an office in Washington, D.C.  

Join Varda, and work to finally create a bustling in-space ecosystem.

About this Role

As a Senior Mechanisms Engineer, you will have full ownership of a range of both spacecraft and microgravity materials manufacturing hardware.  In this position, you will drive mechanisms hardware development including design, analysis, build, and testing at the sub and full system levels.  You will have significant freedom on the vehicle design while driving the full vehicle design, build, test, fly process.

The mechanisms team is responsible for ensuring our spacecraft and payloads can perform the necessary functions to operate on orbit. These functions are essential to mission success and helping Varda become successful in bringing products back from space.  Previous projects have ranged from electromechanical pharmaceutical manufacturing payloads, capsule separation mechanisms, and parachute door release devices. The Mechanisms Engineer will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team, integrating components with structural and electrical subsystems. This role will have a unique opportunity to develop hardware from the ground-up and have the ability to grow as Varda grows.

Responsibilities

• Derive hardware requirements and perform initial design trades given open-ended problem statements and stakeholder feedback
• Evaluate the global impact of hardware design decisions ensure the best system-level solution
• Work closely with customers, product engineers/scientists, and flight hardware engineers (thermal, avionics, structures, software, integration, etc.) to evaluate and optimize flight hardware
• Drive the full development cycle of a variety of spacecraft parts (electromechanical, fluid systems, structures, etc.) to meet defined flight requirements. This includes architecture definition, component selection, system design, analysis, testing, qualification, etc.
• Own the hardware delivery timeline and overall success from concept to launch

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical field with 5+ years of professional experience in related applications (e.g., lab equipment, aerospace systems, medical devices, thermal management systems, etc.) 
• Ability to perform appropriate fluid, structural, and thermal analyses to demonstrate that a payload design meets requirements (e.g., Hand Calcs, Excel, Ansys, Femap, Nastran, Comsol, etc.)
• Excellent 3D CAD skills (ideally NX) and experience translating models to production intent (detailed drawings, work instructions, etc.) 
• Ability to drive integrated subsystem development with inputs from technical contributors across avionics, structures, software, GNC, systems, thermal, integration and test, etc. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with an aptitude for interdisciplinary technical communication 
• Ability to successfully respond to evolving requirements in a fast-moving organization 
• Excitement about making history at the forefront of both the space and pharmaceutical industries 
• Knowledge of electro-mechanical components including motors, valves, servo devices, and sensors
• Hands-on project experience with complex mechanical systems
• Understanding of GD&T and manufacturing processes
• Understanding of system impacts to component design decisions including packaging, thermal, environmental, and loads

Preferred Skills And Experience

• 7+ years of experience design structures or mechanical systems 
• Proven track record of delivering products to market
• Project management or technical project leadership experience 
• Experience with aerospace hardware development practices (e.g., qualification testing practices, design for typical space environments, cleanliness, etc.)
• Experience working on highly integrated systems (i.e. software, electrical, mechanical, thermal, fluids, optics)
• Experience working with electromechanical components including valves, motors, pumps, etc., ideally at small scales
• Ability to design and implement subsystem development tests as needed to guide overall hardware development
• Concept to delivery ownership of a complex moving mechanical components. Bonus points if this system operated in space! 

Pay Range

• Senior Mechanisms Engineer: $135,000 - $185,000 per year
• On site role located in El Segundo, CA

• 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. At present, some of our technology to which employees have access requires a license to be exported to individuals other than “U.S. Persons” as defined in U.S. export regulations. Because our employees are provided access to export-controlled items, our current 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 in the U.S.)

   Learn more about the ITAR here.  

Benefits