Senior Spaceflight Test & Automation Design Engineer

Front Door Defense; El Segundo, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 179,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Relocation support

Medical/Dental/Vision insurance

Job summary

Varda in El Segundo, CA seeks a Senior Mechanical Design & Test Engineer, Automation to build bespoke ground test infrastructure that qualifies spaceflight hardware for orbit. You will design, build, and own test systems including propulsion stands, environmental chambers, and integration testing, using a modern stack with Beckhoff EtherCAT.

On-site role integrating mechanical, electrical, fluid, and instrumentation subsystems; collaborate with propulsion, avionics, and manufacturing to deliver

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 wiring cabinets, PLCs, harnesses, connectors, etc.
• Experience with Altium or EPLAN migration.
• Hands-on with high-pressure gas or fluid systems.
• Environmental test experience: TVAC, thermal cycling, vibration.
• Experience developing propulsion test stands or complex test infrastructure.
• Hands-on with industrial hardware protocols: EtherCAT, Modbus, RS-232/485.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain test systems and GSE for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing operations.
• Achieve >99% uptime and predictable performance of test infrastructure.
• Be the 'Responsible Engineer' for test infrastructure including centrifuges, TVACs, and gas benches.
• Build cabinets, wire panels, and own systems end-to-end from electrical design through commissioning.
• Collaborate with propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing teams to meet aggressive timelines.
• Read, deploy, and minor edits to PLC framework and EtherCAT tooling.
• Champion sustainable engineering practices and ensure thorough documentation.

Skills

5+ years experience

Solidworks/NX CAD

Electrical wiring for cabinets/PLCs

Altium/EPLAN

High-pressure gas/fluid systems

TVAC/thermal/vibration testing

Propulsion test stands

EtherCAT/Modbus/RS-232/485

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

Startup environment ownership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

EtherCAT tooling

Job description

Varda in El Segundo, CA seeks a Senior Mechanical Design & Test Engineer, Automation to build bespoke ground test infrastructure that qualifies spaceflight hardware for orbit. You will design, build, and own test systems including propulsion stands, environmental chambers, and integration testing, using a modern stack with Beckhoff EtherCAT.

On-site role integrating mechanical, electrical, fluid, and instrumentation subsystems; collaborate with propulsion, avionics, and manufacturing to deliver