Payload Mechanisms Engineer II — Space Hardware, Onsite in El Segundo

vardaspace; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 153,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Long-term cash awards

Job summary

Varda Space Industries, Inc. is seeking a Mechanisms Engineer II to develop electromechanical flight hardware for in-orbit and reentry missions.

You will own payloads end-to-end from concept through build, test, launch, and recovery, collaborating with avionics, software, and systems teams. You’ll translate engineering requirements into flight-ready designs, perform hands-on integration and testing, and contribute to continuous improvement while growing breadth across thermal, fluids, and

Qualifications

• 2+ years of design and analysis experience working on complex electro-mechanical hardware or comparable mechanisms.
• Hands-on experience designing, integrating, testing, and troubleshooting electromechanical hardware.
• Ability to communicate effectively across disciplines.

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
• Generate documentation: requirements, ICDs, procedures, test reports
• Support mission operations and post-flight teardown
• Contribute to lessons learned and continuous improvement

Skills

Mechanical fundamentals

Structures

Heat transfer

Fluids

Dynamics

Cross-disciplinary communication

Hands-on hardware

Education

BS/BEng in Mechanical, Aerospace, Mechatronics, or related engineering discipline

Tools

CAD NX

FEA Ansys

Job description

Varda Space Industries, Inc. is seeking a Mechanisms Engineer II to develop electromechanical flight hardware for in-orbit and reentry missions.

You will own payloads end-to-end from concept through build, test, launch, and recovery, collaborating with avionics, software, and systems teams. You’ll translate engineering requirements into flight-ready designs, perform hands-on integration and testing, and contribute to continuous improvement while growing breadth across thermal, fluids, and