Senior Mechanical Design & Test Engineer, Automation (GSE)

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 cash awards

Job summary

Varda Space Industries, Inc. invites a Senior Terrestrial Mechanical Design & Test Engineer, Automation, to lead the creation of bespoke ground support equipment and test platforms for spaceflight hardware qualification and manufacturing.

You will integrate mechanical, electrical, fluid, and instrumentation systems to enable high-cadence production. In this role you will own end-to-end test infrastructure, supervising assemblies from concept through fabrication and commissioning, while

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related technical field.
• 5+ years of industry experience in mechanical design or industrial automation.
• Extensive experience using SolidWorks, NX CAD or comparable.
• Experience with electrical wiring for cabinets, PLCs, harnesses, connectors, etc.
• Experience with Altium or comparable electronic schematic design software. We are migrating to EPLAN!
• Hands-on experience working with high-pressure gas or fluid systems.
• Environmental test experience, including TVAC, thermal cycling, and vibration testing.
• Experience developing propulsion test stands or other complex, multi-subsystem test infrastructure.
• Hands-on experience integrating with industrial hardware over protocols such as EtherCAT, Modbus (TCP/RTU), RS-232/485 serial, or similar communication standards.
• Experience with at least one modern PLC ecosystem - Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 with structured text (IEC 61131-3).
• Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced startup environment where priorities shift, and end-to-end ownership of problems is expected.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain test systems and ground support equipment (GSE) for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing operations including data acquisition systems, thermal control systems, PLC cabinets, and gas/liquid systems.
• Test infrastructure achieves >99% uptime and predictable performance.
• Be the "Responsible Engineer" for test infrastructure including centrifuges, TVACs, prop test stands, and related equipment.
• Build cabinets, wire panels, and own systems end-to-end from electrical design through commissioning.
• Partner with propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing teams to meet demanding timelines.
• Read, deploy and make minor edits to Varda's PLC framework and EtherCAT tooling.
• Champion sustainable engineering practices to help new engineers ramp quickly and maintain production systems.

Skills

Mechanical design

Industrial automation

SolidWorks

Electrical wiring

Altium design

Gas & fluid systems

TVAC testing

EtherCAT/Modbus

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

Startup experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

NX CAD

Altium Designer

EPLAN

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

Job description

Varda Space Industries, Inc. invites a Senior Terrestrial Mechanical Design & Test Engineer, Automation, to lead the creation of bespoke ground support equipment and test platforms for spaceflight hardware qualification and manufacturing.

You will integrate mechanical, electrical, fluid, and instrumentation systems to enable high-cadence production. In this role you will own end-to-end test infrastructure, supervising assemblies from concept through fabrication and commissioning, while