Payload Systems Integration & Test Director

Vardaspace; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 186,000 - 251,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) match

Relocation support

Stock options

Parental leave

Job summary

Varda Space Industries is seeking a Director of Payload Systems Integration and Test in El Segundo, CA. You will lead a multidisciplinary team responsible for end-to-end mission success of diverse payloads including inertial, RF, and optical sensors, plus pharmaceutical processing payloads, delivering flight hardware that survives hypersonic reentry and returns to Earth.

This leadership role blends technical authority with product definition, customer delivery, and process development, including

Qualifications

• 10+ years of spacecraft or aerospace hardware experience spanning integration, test, and mission execution.
• Demonstrated ability to translate poorly-defined technical problems into executable plans, interfaces, and requirements.
• Hands-on experience planning and running environmental qualification campaigns on flight hardware.
• Strong interface engineering background: ICDs, requirements flow-down, interface verification.
• Experience leading engineers, including hiring and developing early-career talent.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead the Payload Systems Integration & Test team, hiring and developing engineers across experience levels.
• Own integration and test for internal pharmaceutical processing payloads: test planning, verification, qualification of flight hardware.
• Collaborate with Payload & Mechanisms engineers on pharma payload designs to shape testability.
• Define and manage payload interfaces, ICDs, and the payload user guide.

Skills

Leadership

Systems engineering

Interface engineering

Environmental qualification

People management

Cleanroom operations

Customer-facing

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Master's degree in engineering

Job description

Varda Space Industries is seeking a Director of Payload Systems Integration and Test in El Segundo, CA. You will lead a multidisciplinary team responsible for end-to-end mission success of diverse payloads including inertial, RF, and optical sensors, plus pharmaceutical processing payloads, delivering flight hardware that survives hypersonic reentry and returns to Earth.

This leadership role blends technical authority with product definition, customer delivery, and process development, including