Senior Mechanical Design Engineer - Space Test Systems

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

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Long-term cash awards

Job summary

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, CA is hiring a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer to build and own ground test infrastructure for spaceflight hardware qualification and manufacturing. You will design, build, and integrate test stands, environmental chambers, and data acquisition systems, partnering with propulsion, avionics, and manufacturing teams.

The role requires hands-on experience with SolidWorks/NX, PLCs, EtherCAT, and high-pressure gas/fluid systems; you will implement end-to-end

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years in mechanical design or industrial automation.
• Experience with SolidWorks, NX CAD or comparable.
• Experience with electrical wiring for cabinets, PLCs, harnesses.
• Experience with Altium or comparable electronic schematic design software; migrating to EPLAN.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain test systems and ground support equipment (GSE) for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing operations including data acquisition systems (Pelican DAQ, Load cell DAQ, Accelerometer DAQ, prop test stands, fill carts), thermal control systems (chillers, heaters, Ln2), PLC cabinets, and gas/liquid systems (valves, ducers, solenoids, flowmeters).
• Test infrastructure achieves >99% uptime and predictable performance.
• Be the Responsible Engineer for test infrastructure including centrifuges, TVACs, prop test stands, prop fill carts, prop gas benches, prop water flow stands and torch test stands.
• 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 that meets their needs on aggressive timelines.
• Read, deploy and make minor edits to Varda's internal PLC framework and EtherCAT tooling to support evolving program need.
• Champion sustainable engineering practices that enable new engineers to ramp quickly on the tech stack and maintain production systems reliably. All systems are thoroughly documented, with clear, accessible procedures and schematics.

Skills

Mechanical design

Industrial automation

GSE development

Prototype fabrication

Troubleshooting

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

NX CAD

Altium

EPLAN

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

EtherCAT

Job description

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, CA is hiring a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer to build and own ground test infrastructure for spaceflight hardware qualification and manufacturing. You will design, build, and integrate test stands, environmental chambers, and data acquisition systems, partnering with propulsion, avionics, and manufacturing teams.

The role requires hands-on experience with SolidWorks/NX, PLCs, EtherCAT, and high-pressure gas/fluid systems; you will implement end-to-end