Terrestrial Mechanical Test Engineer II, Automation

Telemetry Today LLC; El Segundo, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; 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, is hiring a Terrestrial Mechanical Design & Test Engineer II, Automation, to build and own ground support equipment for spaceflight hardware qualification. You’ll design, test, and integrate complex systems, from propulsion test stands to environmental chambers, for rapid production and testing cycles.

The role requires hands-on experience with solid engineering practices, PLCs, and EtherCAT, plus collaboration with propulsion, avionics, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 3+ years in mechanical design or industrial automation.
• Experience with Solidworks, NX CAD, or similar.
• Electrical wiring for cabinets, PLCs, harnesses, connectors.
• Experience with Altium; migrating to EPLAN.
• Hands-on with high-pressure gas or fluid systems.
• Environmental testing incl. TVAC, thermal cycling, vibration.
• Experience with propulsion test stands or complex test infra.
• Experience with EtherCAT, Modbus, RS-232/485.
• Experience with Beckhoff PLC ecosystem (IEC 61131-3).
• Thrives in fast-paced startup environments.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain test systems and GSE for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing.
• Ensure >99% uptime and predictable performance of test infrastructure.
• Be the Responsible Engineer for test infrastructure including centrifuges, TVACs, test stands.
• Build cabinets, wire panels, and own systems end-to-end from design to commissioning.
• Partner with propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing to meet needs on timelines.
• Read, deploy and modify Varda's PLC framework and EtherCAT tooling as needed.
• Champion sustainable engineering practices and document procedures clearly.

Skills

Solidworks

NX CAD

Electrical wiring

Beckhoff TwinCAT

EtherCAT

PLC systems

Modbus/RS-485

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

IEC 61131-3

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Pelican DAQ

Beckhoff EtherCAT tooling

Altium

EPLAN

Job description

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, CA, is hiring a Terrestrial Mechanical Design & Test Engineer II, Automation, to build and own ground support equipment for spaceflight hardware qualification. You’ll design, test, and integrate complex systems, from propulsion test stands to environmental chambers, for rapid production and testing cycles.

The role requires hands-on experience with solid engineering practices, PLCs, and EtherCAT, plus collaboration with propulsion, avionics, and