People Operations Specialist

Varda Space Industries; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 41,000 - 59,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) with employer match

Relocation support

Stock options

Paid time off

Wellness reimbursement

Job summary

Varda Space Industries seeks a highly organized People Operations Specialist to support recruiting, onboarding, HR administration, and the overall employee experience. This hands-on role will be a central contact for candidates, new hires, employees, and managers, owning the details from candidate through offboarding.

The role emphasizes an organized, proactive approach, coordinating onboarding, maintaining HR records, and collaborating with Recruiting, Finance, IT, Facilities, and

Qualifications

• 3+ years of HR, recruiting coordination, People Operations, or administrative experience.
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail and follow-through.
• Strong communication and customer-service skills.
• Comfortable managing multiple priorities in a fast-moving environment.
• High discretion when handling confidential employee information.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate the new hire onboarding process from accepted offer through the first-day experience.
• Serve as a key contact for new hires, helping create a welcoming onboarding experience.
• Ensure employee changes are documented and communicated to payroll, benefits, IT, and managers.
• Maintain accurate employee records and HRIS data.
• Support employee offboarding and final-day logistics.
• Draft and prepare routine HR documents, including offer letters and recognition letters.
• Provide backup coordination support to the recruitment team when needed.
• Partner with recruiters and hiring managers to ensure a smooth candidate experience.

Skills

HR coordination

Recruiting support

Employee onboarding

Communication skills

Tools

HRIS

Payroll systems

Job description

Low Earth orbit is open for business. Varda is accelerating the development of commercial space infrastructure, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules.Varda’s W-Series vehicles are built, designed, and operated by Varda in-house, including the pharmaceutical processing payloads, the capsules, the C-PICA heat shields, and the satellite buses.

From life-saving pharmaceuticals to more powerful fiber optics, there is a world of products used on Earth today that can only be manufactured in space. Varda is accelerating innovation in the orbital economy by creating both the products and infrastructure needed so space can directly benefit life on Earth. Our mission is to expand the economic bounds of humankind.

Our team is uniquely suited to accomplishing this goal, with leadership and staff comprised of veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, major pharmaceutical companies and Silicon Valley. Varda was founded in January 2021 by Will Bruey and Delian Asparouhov with significant backing from world class investors including Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, General Catalyst, and Also Capital.

Varda is headquartered in El Segundo, California, where we have offices and a production facility where our vehicles, equipment, and materials are built, integrated, and tested. Varda also has offices in Washington, DC and Huntsville, AL.

Join Varda, and work to create a bustling in-space ecosystem.

About the Role

Varda is looking for a highly organized, proactive People OperationsSpecialist tohelp keep the day-to-day People function running smoothly. This role will support recruiting, onboarding, HR administration, and the overall employee experience.

This is a hands-on role andan important pointof contact for candidates, new hires, employees, and managers. The ideal person enjoys being at the center of the action, takes ownership of the details,anticipateswhat needs to happen next, and helps create a seamless and welcoming experience for employees from candidate through offboarding.

Key Responsibilities

HumanResourcesAdministration

• Coordinate the new hire onboarding process from accepted offer through the employee’s first-day experience, ensuring all required documentation, systems access, communications, and internal coordination are completed.
• Serve as a key point of contact for new hires, helping create an organized, welcoming, and consistent onboarding experience.
• Ensure employee changes are accurately documented and communicated to payroll, benefits, IT, managers, and otherappropriate partnersin a timely manner.
• Maintainaccurateand up-to-date employee records, personnel files, organizational information, and HRIS data.
• Support employee offboarding, including coordinating required documentation, internal notifications, system access changes, return of company property, and final-daylogistics.
• Monitor People Operations workflows and follow up with employees and managers to ensure required forms, approvals, and information are completed on time.
• Respond to routine employee questions and help connect employees with theappropriate Peopleteam member or resource whenadditionalsupport is needed.
• Support employee events, recognition programs, communications, engagement activities, and other People initiatives.
• Partner across Recruiting, People Operations, Finance, IT, Facilities, Hospitality, and Administration to ensure employee-related processes are coordinated and executed smoothly.
• Provide general administrative and project support to the People team, including special projects and evolving priorities as the organization grows.
• Draft and prepare routine HR documentation, including offer letters, promotion and compensation change letters, bonus and recognition award letters, employment verification letters, and other ad hoc employee communications and documents.
• Provide backupcoordination supportto the recruitment team when needed.
• Partner with recruiters and hiring managers to ensure a smooth, high-touch candidate experience.
• Support recruiting events, interviewlogistics, travel, and recruiting administration.

Employee Experience

• Help coordinate the employee shuttle service, including schedules, communications, feedback, and day-to-day issuesuntil hospitality team is built out.
• Help ensure employees haveseamless, best-in‑class workplace experience.

What We're Looking For

• 3+ years of HR, recruiting coordination, People Operations, or administrative experience.
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail and follow-through.
• Strong communicationand customer-service skills.
• Comfortable managing multiple priorities in a fast-moving environment.
• High discretion when handling confidential employee information.
• Proactive, resourceful, and willing to jump in where needed.
• Comfortable working onsite and being a visible, approachable member of the People team.

Compensation & Location

• Pay range: $30.00/hr - $43.00/hr
• Leveling and base salary is determined by job-related skills, education level, experience level, and job performance
• You will be eligible for incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards

Consider your benefits covered for launch. At Varda, we invest in benefits andperksthat support your health, financial well-being, and life beyond work. Benefits vary by position, with packages designed specifically for our regular full-time employees and interns.

Regular Full-Time Positions:

• Flexible PTO policy +12 paid holidays
• 100% company-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans for employees and dependents with FSA and employer-matched HSA options
• Voluntaryaccident, hospital, critical illness,andpet insurance
• $120/month wellness reimbursement for gym and fitness expenses
• 12weeks ofparental leave(with supplemental disability leavefor CAmothers)
• SponsoredOne Medicalmemberships for employees and their dependents
• Substantial incentive equityin a fully funded space start-up
• 401(k) retirement plan with 6% employer match (immediatelyvested)
• $20/pay period cell phone reimbursement
• Relocation supportfor new hires, if needed

Workplace Experience & Perks

• Fully stocked kitchen with lunch provided daily and dinner provided twice weekly
• Company and team-bonding events, happyhoursand mission-success celebrations
• Complimentary EV charging

Benefits forInternship Positions:

• 100% company-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans for employees and dependents with FSA and employer-matched HSA options.
• $120/month wellness reimbursement for gym and fitness expenses.
• Sponsored One Medical memberships for employees and their dependents.
• $20/pay period cell phone reimbursement.
• Up to $4,000gross up in relocation support, ifeligible
• Up to $850commute credit through Lyft or car rental reimbursement, if eligible.

Workplace Experience & Perks

• Fully stocked kitchen with lunch provided daily and dinner provided twice weekly
• Company and team-bonding events, happyhoursand mission-success celebrations
• Complimentary EV charging

Varda, like all employers, must ensure that its employees working in the United States are lawfully authorized to work in the U.S. Additionally, our employees are exposed to and have access to certain export-controlled items. Because our employees are provided access to export-controlled items, our policy is to only hire “U.S. persons” who are permitted to have access to our technology without an export license.
“US person” means: U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) (i.e., individual admitted to the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum).

E-Verify Statement

Varda Space Industries, Inc. participates in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security E-Verify program. The E-Verify program is an Internet-based employment eligibility verification system operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Learn more about theE-Verify program.

Varda Space Industries is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Candidates and employees are always evaluated based on merit, qualifications, and performance. We will never discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, martial status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.