Ground Test Systems Engineer II – Space Automation

Telemetry Today LLC; El Segundo, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 153,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Long-term cash awards

Job summary

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, California, is seeking a Terrestrial Automation & Controls Engineer II to design, build, and own test infrastructure that qualifies spaceflight hardware for orbit. You will develop ground support equipment and a PLC-based control stack to support fast-paced aerospace programs.

The role involves integrating with diverse hardware, evaluating PLC vs Linux approaches for high-frequency control, and mentoring new engineers while delivering reliable,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related technical field.
• 2+ years of industry experience in test automation, controls, and/or industrial automation.
• Hands-on experience integrating with industrial hardware over EtherCAT, Modbus, RS-232/485, or similar protocols.
• Experience with at least one modern PLC ecosystem—Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 preferred.
• Comfort designing electrical panels, wiring cabinets, and writing control software.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced startup with end-to-end ownership.

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 implementations, evaluating PLC-based (TwinCAT 3) vs Linux-based approaches for high-frequency control.
• 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.

Skills

Test automation

Industrial automation

EtherCAT

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

PLC programming

Electrical panel design

Real-time control

Cross-functional teamwork

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

Grafana

InfluxDB

Job description

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, California, is seeking a Terrestrial Automation & Controls Engineer II to design, build, and own test infrastructure that qualifies spaceflight hardware for orbit. You will develop ground support equipment and a PLC-based control stack to support fast-paced aerospace programs.

The role involves integrating with diverse hardware, evaluating PLC vs Linux approaches for high-frequency control, and mentoring new engineers while delivering reliable,