Spacecraft Test Automation Engineer II

Varda Space Industries; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 153,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Long-term cash awards

Job summary

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, CA, seeks an Automation & Controls Engineer II to design, build, and own bespoke ground support equipment and test systems for space hardware qualification and manufacturing. You will shape real-time control solutions and drive end-to-end system integration.

The role emphasizes hands-on electrical design, wiring, and programming within a fast-paced startup environment, with opportunities to influence architecture decisions and leverage in-house PLC

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related technical field.
• 2+ years of industry experience in test automation, controls, and/or industrial automation.
• Hands-on experience with industrial hardware and communication protocols (EtherCAT, Modbus, RS-232/485).
• Experience with at least one modern PLC ecosystem, preferably Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 with structured text (IEC 61131-3).
• Comfort designing electrical panels, wiring cabinets, debugging hardware, and writing control software.
• Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced startup environment with end-to-end ownership.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain test systems and ground support equipment (GSE) for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing operations.
• Integrate with thermal vacuum chambers, ovens, chillers, pressure systems, data acquisition, and instrumentation.
• Develop and extend Varda's PLC framework and EtherCAT tooling to support evolving program needs.
• Evaluate real-time control approaches (TwinCAT 3 vs Linux-based) for high-frequency control.
• Assemble and wire cabinets, and manage end-to-end system commissioning.
• Collaborate with propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing teams to meet aggressive timelines.

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, or related technical field

Tools

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

EtherCAT tooling

PLC frameworks

Grafana

InfluxDB

Job description

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, CA, seeks an Automation & Controls Engineer II to design, build, and own bespoke ground support equipment and test systems for space hardware qualification and manufacturing. You will shape real-time control solutions and drive end-to-end system integration.

The role emphasizes hands-on electrical design, wiring, and programming within a fast-paced startup environment, with opportunities to influence architecture decisions and leverage in-house PLC