Varda Space Industries · 2 weeks ago
Mechanisms Engineer - Payloads
El Segundo, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Mid LevelVarda Space Industries is accelerating the development of commercial space infrastructure, focusing on in-orbit pharmaceutical processing and reentry capsules. As a Mechanisms Engineer on the Payload team, you will develop electromechanical flight hardware, taking responsibility for payloads from concept through to recovery, while collaborating with specialists to ensure compatibility and performance.
AerospaceManufacturingProduct Design
No H1B
U.S. Citizen Only
Responsibilities
Own payload hardware from concept through design, integration, launch, reentry, and recovery
Design mechanisms, structures, thermal/fluid interfaces, and electromechanical assemblies
Run structural, thermal, and fluid analyses (hand calcs, simplified models, and FEA as needed)
Build, instrument, and test prototypes and flight hardware
Work across avionics, software, thermal, systems, and integration teams to define interfaces and ensure compatibility
Serve as the primary technical point of contact for assigned payloads
Generate documentation: requirements, ICDs, procedures, test reports
Support mission operations and post-flight teardown
Contribute to lessons learned and continuous improvement
Qualification
Required
BS/BEng in Mechanical, Aerospace, Mechatronics, or related engineering discipline
Strong fundamentals in structures, heat transfer, fluids, and dynamics
Hands-on experience designing, integrating, testing, and troubleshooting electromechanical hardware
Ability to communicate effectively across disciplines
Preferred
Experience integrating electromechanical actuators, sensors, thermal control hardware and/or fluid control hardware
Experience using CAD (NX preferred) and FEA (Ansys, Nastran)
Exposure to aerospace environmental testing (vibration, TVAC, EMI/EMC)
Customer-facing technical communication experience
Ability to obtain a government security clearance
Benefits
Exciting team of professionals at the top of their field working by your side
Equity in a fully funded space startup with potential for significant growth (interns excluded)
401(k) matching (interns excluded)
Unlimited PTO (interns excluded)
Health insurance, including Vision and Dental
Lunch and snacks provided on site every day. Dinners provided twice a week.
Maternity / Paternity leave (interns excluded)
Company
Varda Space Industries
Varda is building the infrastructure for a thriving orbital economy, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules.
Founded in 2021
51-200 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$328.02MKey Investors
Alumni VenturesCaffeinated CapitalKhosla Ventures
2025-07-10Series C· $187M
2024-12-19Series C
2024-04-05Series B· $90M
Leadership Team
Will Bruey
Chief Executive Officer
Recent News
Business Insider
2025-12-25
2025-12-17
Company data provided by crunchbase