Senior Site Reliability 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 offices in Washington, DC and Huntsville, AL (coming soon).

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

About This Role

As a Senior Site Reliability Engineer, you'll solve challenging technical problems across a wide range of modern technologies. Applying a software engineering mindset to ensure systems are highly operational, scalable, and resilient. Design and build infrastructure that enables rapid development — from cloud-based services to embedded software running on spacecraft. Ultimately, shaping Varda’s infrastructure strategy and drive operational excellence across containerized and modernized environments.

• Our tech-stack includes: 
• Azure 
• Docker and Kubernetes 
• Terraform 
• Grafana 
• InfluxDB 
• Bamboo 
• Windows and Linux 
• Python 

This is a full-time, exempt position located in our El Segundo headquarters.

Responsibilities

• Lead the deployment, maintenance, and operations of mission critical applications and IT infrastructure supporting spacecraft and company-wide systems.
• Design and maintain Infrastructure as Code (IaC) frameworks using tools such as Terraform; implement integrated monitoring and alerting systems.
• Partner with software and hardware engineers to deliver highly operable, reliable, and scalable systems and pipelines; ensuring they have the tools and infrastructure needed for rapid iteration.
• Drive efforts to identify, analyze, and resolve system bottlenecks and reliability risks; lead performance tuning and long-term stability efforts.
• Rotate through the team’s on-call schedule to keep critical systems healthy and responsive.
• Occasionally travel to customer sites and other Varda locations to troubleshoot, deploy, or test critical infrastructure.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, or engineering discipline; experience with site reliability or DevOps (in lieu of a degree)
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using tools like Terraform to automate server provisioning and configuration management
• Knowledge of software defined networking (VPC, Subnets, Firewalls, VPNs, etc.)
• Python, Bash, PowerShell (or similar) scripting experience
• Positive and strong communication skills, both written and oral

Preferred Skills and Experience

• 5+ years of DevOps, site reliability engineering, or system administration experience
• Experience provisioning and managing scalable Azure cloud infrastructure using native tools and best practices
• Experience with both container and virtualization technologies
• Experience with databases and data modeling

Additional Requirements

• Must be physically able to regularly lift 25 lbs. for duties such as delivering computers, unpacking and rack-mounting equipment, etc.

Pay Range

• Senior Site Reliability Engineer: 133,000.00 - $170,00.00/per year
• This role is on-site in El Segundo, CA
• Leveling and base salary is determined by job-related skills, education level, experience level, and job performance
• You will be eligible for long-term incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards

• 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