Lead Spacecraft Build Reliability Engineer

Varda Space Industries; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 179,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Long-term cash awards

Job summary

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, CA, seeks a Senior Spacecraft Build Reliability Engineer to partner with design and manufacturing teams to size processes and controls for scalable spacecraft hardware production.

You will ensure reliability across build, test, and qualification campaigns, perform failure analyses, and drive root-cause solutions. This hands-on role requires hardware testing, troubleshooting, and a collaborative mindset to improve manufacturability.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace, electrical, mechanical, manufacturing, or materials engineering.
• 5+ years professional experience in aerospace, design, quality, or related engineering role.
• Hands-on hardware test, qualification, troubleshooting, or failure analysis experience.
• Commitment to lean quality principles without compromising safety or reliability.
• Demonstrated application of process controls in high-volume manufacturing, test, and quality environments.
• Experience generating, processing, and/or analyzing data for production insight.
• Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills, with a drive to innovate and improve reliability.

Responsibilities

• Partner with design and manufacturing to create test, manufacturability, and inspection plans for vehicle hardware.
• Contain suspect or known non-conforming product, guiding quality inspectors, technicians, shop supervisors, and engineers.
• Lead failure investigations in production, test, and operation; identify root causes and mitigate risks to improve reliability.
• Provide critical peer review of hardware during design reviews and acceptance/qualification testing campaigns.
• Perform FMEA, create requirement compliance matrices, ensure adequate test coverage and change management.
• Own vehicle-level deliverables for regulatory compliance, analyses, and verification evidence.
• Support Mission Assurance's vehicle-level risk management and mitigations.

Skills

Process controls

Data analysis

Collaborative skills

Hands-on hardware testing

Root cause analysis

Failure investigations

Quality improvement

Education

Aerospace/Mechanical/Electrical/Materials engineering degree

Tools

PFMEA

DOE

SPC

APQP

Metrology

Job description

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, CA, seeks a Senior Spacecraft Build Reliability Engineer to partner with design and manufacturing teams to size processes and controls for scalable spacecraft hardware production.

You will ensure reliability across build, test, and qualification campaigns, perform failure analyses, and drive root-cause solutions. This hands-on role requires hardware testing, troubleshooting, and a collaborative mindset to improve manufacturability.