Terrestrial Automation Design & Test Engineer II

Varda Space Industries, Inc.; El Segundo, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 153,000; Full time

Job summary

Varda Space Industries, Inc. in El Segundo, CA, seeks a Terrestrial Mechanical Design & Test Engineer II, Automation who builds test infrastructure to qualify spaceflight hardware for orbit, and who designs, builds, and owns ground support equipment and test systems, including propulsion test stands and environmental chambers.

You will integrate mechanical, electrical, fluid, and instrumentation systems, manage end-to-end execution from concept through fabrication and commissioning, and partner

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related technical field.
• 3+ years of industry experience in mechanical design or industrial automation.
• Experience with Solidworks, NX CAD or comparable.
• Experience with electrical wiring for cabinets, PLCs, harnesses, connectors.
• Experience with Altium or comparable schematic design; migrating to EPLAN.
• Hands-on experience with high-pressure gas or fluid systems.
• Environmental test experience (TVAC, thermal cycling, vibration).
• Experience developing propulsion test stands or complex, multi-subsystem test infrastructure.
• Experience integrating with EtherCAT, Modbus, RS-232/RS-485 or similar.
• Experience with Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 or eagerness to develop deep expertise.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain test systems and GSE for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing.
• Test infrastructure uptime >99% and predictable performance.
• Be the Responsible Engineer for test infrastructure including various test stands and benches.
• Build cabinets, wire panels, and own end-to-end systems from electrical design through commissioning.
• Collaborate with propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing to meet aggressive timelines.
• Read, deploy and edit Varda's PLC framework and EtherCAT tooling as needed.
• Champion sustainable engineering practices and thorough documentation.

Skills

Mechanical design

Industrial automation

GSE testing

Electrical wiring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Solidworks

NX CAD

Altium

EPLAN

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

EtherCAT

Modbus

PLC programming

Job description

Varda Space Industries, Inc. in El Segundo, CA, seeks a Terrestrial Mechanical Design & Test Engineer II, Automation who builds test infrastructure to qualify spaceflight hardware for orbit, and who designs, builds, and owns ground support equipment and test systems, including propulsion test stands and environmental chambers.

You will integrate mechanical, electrical, fluid, and instrumentation systems, manage end-to-end execution from concept through fabrication and commissioning, and partner