Senior Ground Test Automation & Controls Engineer

Varda Space Industries, Inc.; El Segundo, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 179,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Long-term incentives

Job summary

Varda Space Industries, Inc. in El Segundo, CA, is seeking a Senior Terrestrial Automation & Controls Engineer to build bespoke test infrastructure that qualifies spaceflight hardware for orbit. You will design, build, and own ground support equipment and test systems, shaping architecture decisions for real-time control.

Join a fast-paced startup with impact across propulsion, avionics, and manufacturing. You will work with Beckhoff TwinCAT 3, EtherCAT, PLCs and diverse hardware to deliver

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related technical field.
• 5+ years in test automation, controls, or industrial automation.
• Hands-on experience with EtherCAT, Modbus, RS-232/485 or similar protocols.
• Experience with TwinCAT 3 and IEC 61131-3 languages.
• Comfort across electrical design, wiring cabinets, and control software.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain test systems and GSE for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing operations.
• Integrate with external hardware including thermal vacuum chambers, ovens, chillers, pressure systems, and data acquisition hardware.
• Develop and extend internal PLC framework and EtherCAT tooling to support evolving program needs.
• Contribute to architecture decisions on real-time control implementation (TwinCAT 3 vs Linux-based approaches).
• Build cabinets, wire panels, and own systems end-to-end from electrical design through commissioning.
• Partner with propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing teams to deliver test infrastructure under tight timelines.
• Champion sustainable engineering practices to enable new engineers to ramp quickly.

Skills

Test automation

Industrial automation

EtherCAT

PLC systems

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

Systems integration

Hard real-time control

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

EtherCAT tooling

PLC programming

Job description

Varda Space Industries, Inc. in El Segundo, CA, is seeking a Senior Terrestrial Automation & Controls Engineer to build bespoke test infrastructure that qualifies spaceflight hardware for orbit. You will design, build, and own ground support equipment and test systems, shaping architecture decisions for real-time control.

Join a fast-paced startup with impact across propulsion, avionics, and manufacturing. You will work with Beckhoff TwinCAT 3, EtherCAT, PLCs and diverse hardware to deliver