Senior Ground Support Automation Engineer Python & Beckhoff

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

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Equity incentives

Relocation support

Health insurance

Job summary

Varda Space Industries is seeking an experienced Automation and Controls Engineer to design, build, and maintain sophisticated test systems and ground support equipment for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing. You will integrate with a wide range of external hardware and contribute to architecture decisions affecting real-time control implementations.

The role requires hands-on experience with EtherCAT, Modbus, Beckhoff TwinCAT 3, and IEC 61131-3, with a track record of end-to-end

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Computer/Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in test automation, controls, and/or industrial automation.
• Hands-on experience with EtherCAT, Modbus (TCP/RTU), RS-232/485 or similar protocols.
• Experience with Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 and IEC 61131-3.
• Ability to design, build, and debug test infrastructure end-to-end.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain test systems and ground support equipment (GSE) for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing operations.
• Integrate with external hardware including thermal/pressure systems, data acquisition, and instrumentation.
• Develop and extend Varda's PLC framework and EtherCAT tooling to meet evolving needs.
• Contribute to real-time control architecture decisions (TwinCAT 3 vs Linux-based approaches).
• Build cabinets, wire panels, and own systems from electrical design through commissioning.
• Collaborate with propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing teams to meet aggressive timelines.
• Champion sustainable engineering practices to help new engineers ramp quickly and maintain systems.

Skills

Test automation

Controls engineering

Industrial automation

Real-time control

DAQ and data acquisition

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering

Tools

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

EtherCAT

Modbus (TCP/RTU)

Industrial PLC programming

IEC 61131-3

Job description

Varda Space Industries is seeking an experienced Automation and Controls Engineer to design, build, and maintain sophisticated test systems and ground support equipment for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing. You will integrate with a wide range of external hardware and contribute to architecture decisions affecting real-time control implementations.

The role requires hands-on experience with EtherCAT, Modbus, Beckhoff TwinCAT 3, and IEC 61131-3, with a track record of end-to-end