Senior Mechanical Design Engineer — Spaceflight GSE (El Segundo)

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, seeks a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer to design, build, and own ground support equipment and test infrastructures for spaceflight hardware qualification and manufacturing. You will integrate mechanical, electrical, fluid, and instrumentation systems into cohesive test platforms.

The role emphasizes rapid R&D and long-term infrastructure, with a modern PLC/EtherCAT stack and a focus on uptime, safety, and documentation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years in mechanical design or industrial automation.
• Experience with SolidWorks or NX CAD.
• Experience wiring cabinets and PLC harnesses.
• Experience with EtherCAT, Modbus or similar protocols.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain GSE and test systems for flight hardware.
• Test infrastructure achieves >99% uptime and reliable performance.
• Be the Responsible Engineer for test infrastructure incl. centrifuges, TVACs, test stands.
• Build cabinets and wire panels, end-to-end electrical design through commissioning.
• Partner with propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing on timelines.
• Read, deploy and edit PLC/EtherCAT tooling to support needs.
• Document procedures and maintain scalable, well-documented systems.

Skills

SolidWorks/NX CAD

Electrical wiring

EtherCAT / Modbus

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

Gas/fluid systems

Propulsion test stands

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Altium

EPLAN

Pelican DAQ

Job description

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, CA, seeks a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer to design, build, and own ground support equipment and test infrastructures for spaceflight hardware qualification and manufacturing. You will integrate mechanical, electrical, fluid, and instrumentation systems into cohesive test platforms.

The role emphasizes rapid R&D and long-term infrastructure, with a modern PLC/EtherCAT stack and a focus on uptime, safety, and documentation.