Senior Propulsion Engineer - Spacecraft Bus & Hardware

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

Job summary

Varda Space is seeking a Senior Propulsion Engineer – Hardware & Bus Systems to own propulsion subsystems across the satellite bus fleet. You will manage system architecture, component sizing, and test procedures, while guiding cross-disciplinary teams and ensuring reliability both on ground and in orbit.

You will lead anomaly investigations, develop operational procedures, and mentor junior engineers, with on-site work in El Segundo, CA as part of a fast-moving aerospace team shaping future

Qualifications

• B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field; equivalent professional experience considered.
• 3+ years propulsion or fluid systems definition, design, build, and test for spacecraft or launch vehicles.
• Deep working knowledge of flight fluid system hardware and P&IDs; CAD proficiency.

Responsibilities

• Maintain propulsion baseline including P&IDs and system documentation.
• Design, analyze, and test propulsion flight hardware and components.
• Identify upgrades on operational vehicles to improve reliability and cadence.
• Define requirements and high-level propulsion architecture for future vehicles; develop roadmaps.
• Generate propulsion performance analyses and feed inputs to cross-disciplinary teams.
• Build scripts/tools to automate analysis and data workflows.
• Perform mechanical design of propulsion hardware; conduct FE analyses.
• Author design docs, specs, test procedures, and memos.
• Sit on console for in-flight propulsion operations.
• Mentor engineers and review analysis packages and deliverables.

Skills

Propulsion engineering

Fluid systems

P&IDs

CAD tools

Operational procedures

Anomaly investigations

Mentoring

Education

B.S. in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering

Tools

CATIA

SolidWorks

NX

PLM software

Job description

Varda Space is seeking a Senior Propulsion Engineer – Hardware & Bus Systems to own propulsion subsystems across the satellite bus fleet. You will manage system architecture, component sizing, and test procedures, while guiding cross-disciplinary teams and ensuring reliability both on ground and in orbit.

You will lead anomaly investigations, develop operational procedures, and mentor junior engineers, with on-site work in El Segundo, CA as part of a fast-moving aerospace team shaping future