Launch Vehicle & Recovery Engineering Lead

Varda Space Industries, Inc.; El Segundo, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 246,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Relocation Support

Equity incentives

401(k) with match

Wellness reimbursement

Job summary

Varda Space Industries, Inc. in El Segundo, CA invites an experienced Launch & Recovery Engineering Manager to own the launch vehicle interfaces and capsule recovery operations as we scale to 12+ vehicles per year.

You will lead a team of launch and recovery engineers, coordinate with subsystems, mission operations, and leadership, and deliver LSA commitments while advancing space infrastructure.

Qualifications

• B.S. degree in engineering, physics, or related field with 5–10+ years in systems, integration, and/or test.
• Formal or informal people management or tech leadership experience.
• Comprehensive understanding of satellite systems engineering across subsystems.
• Thorough knowledge of launch vehicle mechanical and electrical interface specs.

Responsibilities

• Directly manage, mentor, and develop a team of launch and recovery engineers.
• Set goals, conduct performance reviews, support career growth for reports.
• Hire and onboard new team members as cadence scales to 12+ vehicles/year.
• Coordinate with subsystems, mission operations, and senior leadership on behalf of the team.
• Lead cross-functional collaboration to meet LSA commitments and milestones.
• Define and execute launch vehicle interface requirements and ICDs.
• Oversee launch site integration and test procedures for each mission.

Skills

C++

Python

Team leadership

Systems engineering

Launch vehicle knowledge

Problem solving

Education

B.S. in Engineering/Physics

M.S. preferred

Tools

Unigraphics NX

Job description

Varda Space Industries, Inc. in El Segundo, CA invites an experienced Launch & Recovery Engineering Manager to own the launch vehicle interfaces and capsule recovery operations as we scale to 12+ vehicles per year.

You will lead a team of launch and recovery engineers, coordinate with subsystems, mission operations, and leadership, and deliver LSA commitments while advancing space infrastructure.