Spaceflight Test Automation Engineer II

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

Benefits offered by this job

Health & Wellness

Relocation assistance

Equity incentives

401(k) employer match

Fully stocked kitchen and meals

Job summary

Varda Space Industries, Inc. is seeking a Mechanical Test Engineer II, Automation to design, build and own test infrastructure for spaceflight hardware qualification at our El Segundo, CA site.

You will engineer bespoke GSE and test systems including propulsion test stands, environmental chambers, and integration platforms using a modern PLC framework. Join a fast-paced startup‑style team delivering high‑reliability test solutions across propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing, with a focus

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 3+ years in mechanical design or industrial automation.
• Experience with SolidWorks or NX CAD.
• Experience with electrical wiring for cabinets and PLCs.
• Experience with Altium or migrating to EPLAN.
• Hands-on with high-pressure gas or fluid systems.
• Environmental tests (TVAC, thermal cycling, vibration).
• Experience with propulsion test stands or similar multi-subsystem test infra.
• Experience with EtherCAT, Modbus, RS-232/485.
• Experience with Beckhoff PLC ecosystem.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain test systems and ground support equipment (GSE) for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing operations including data acquisition systems (Pelican DAQ, Load cell DAQ, Accelerometer DAQ, prop test stands, fill carts), thermal control systems (chillers, heaters, Ln2), PLC cabinets, and gas/liquid systems (valves, ducers, solenoids).
• Test infrastructure achieves >99% uptime and predictable performance.
• Be the "Responsible Engineer" for test infrastructure including centrifuges, TVACs, prop test stands, prop fill carts, prop gas benches, prop water flow stands and torch test stands.
• Build cabinets, wire panels, and own systems end-to-end from electrical design through commissioning.
• Partner with propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing teams to deliver test infrastructure that meets needs on aggressive timelines.
• Read, deploy and minor edits to Varda's internal PLC framework and EtherCAT tooling.
• Champion sustainable engineering practices that enable new engineers to ramp quickly on the tech stack and maintain production systems reliably.

Skills

Mechanical design

Industrial automation

SolidWorks

Electrical wiring

Altium

EtherCAT

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

Education

Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

NX CAD

Job description

Varda Space Industries, Inc. is seeking a Mechanical Test Engineer II, Automation to design, build and own test infrastructure for spaceflight hardware qualification at our El Segundo, CA site.

You will engineer bespoke GSE and test systems including propulsion test stands, environmental chambers, and integration platforms using a modern PLC framework. Join a fast-paced startup‑style team delivering high‑reliability test solutions across propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing, with a focus