Senior Automation & Controls Engineer - Spaceflight Testing

Socket.dev; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 179,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Relocation support

Medical, Dental and Vision insurance

401(k) employer match

Job summary

Varda Space Industries seeks a Senior Automation and Controls Engineer to design, build, and own ground support equipment and test systems used to qualify spaceflight hardware for orbit. You will work on a modern stack with Beckhoff TwinCAT 3, EtherCAT tooling, and in-house PLC frameworks, shaping architecture and standards.

You will collaborate with propulsion, avionics, and manufacturing teams to deliver end-to-end test infrastructure on aggressive timelines, while mentoring new engineers and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Computer, Mechanical Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years in test automation, controls, or industrial automation.
• Hands-on with EtherCAT, Modbus, RS-232/485 or similar protocols.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain test systems and GSE for flight hardware qualification.
• Integrate hardware like thermal vacuum chambers, ovens, chiller systems and sensors.
• Develop and extend PLC framework and EtherCAT tooling.
• Evaluate real-time control approaches (TwinCAT 3 vs Linux) for high-frequency tasks.
• Build cabinets, wire panels, and own end-to-end system commissioning.
• Collaborate with propulsion, avionics, GNC and manufacturing teams.
• Promote sustainable engineering practices for ramping new engineers.

Skills

EtherCAT integration

TwinCAT 3 PLC

Real-time control

Electrical panel wiring

GSE development

Industrial automation

Python orchestration

Spacecraft testing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Computer/Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

EtherCAT tooling

IEC 61131-3 (Structured Text)

Grafana / InfluxDB

Job description

Varda Space Industries seeks a Senior Automation and Controls Engineer to design, build, and own ground support equipment and test systems used to qualify spaceflight hardware for orbit. You will work on a modern stack with Beckhoff TwinCAT 3, EtherCAT tooling, and in-house PLC frameworks, shaping architecture and standards.

You will collaborate with propulsion, avionics, and manufacturing teams to deliver end-to-end test infrastructure on aggressive timelines, while mentoring new engineers and