About Varda
There are many products that improve the quality of life on Earth that can only be manufactured in space. Our job at Varda is to make those products and bring them back down. We at Varda are proud to expand the economic bounds of humankind.
Here, you’ll have the opportunity to work at the intersection of ambition and experience. Our team has deep experience in aerospace and tech. They have honed their crafts in the trenches of major companies. Your work will be valued and evaluated by proven leaders who have chosen to apply their talents to manufacturing in space.
While our vision is big, the steps to get there are technically reasonable and operationally feasible. Our conops are clear and use cases have been proven out over decades of ISS-based research and development.
Join Varda to help leverage space for business.
About this Role
As a Varda Avionics Hardware Engineer, you will design, manufacture, test, and represent electrical components used to fly and manufacture products in space. In this role you will have immense ownership of hardware through all lifecycle phases. Get excited to deliver and test products that will go to space and back!
Some people say that you only have one chance to fly to space so you must be certain it will work. At Varda, we believe that the trip to space and back is the easiest trip our hardware takes. We stress our components above and beyond the levels it should expect to see in flight, and we investigate our failures thoroughly. Come join our team and build quality electronics that you love to see fly over and over again.
Responsibilities
- Develop mixed-signal designs and shepherd them through the full product lifecycle including requirements definition, design, development, qualification, and release to production
- Support avionics architecture trade studies, analyses, performance characterization and specification, device selection, and roadmap direction
- Support risk analyses, design for test/manufacture/cost, and root-cause analysis of test discrepancies
- Design electrical circuit boards
- Collaborate on mechanical design fit, form, and function
- Functionally test your hardware through thermal, vibe, shock, TVAC, and EMI
- Write vehicle level integration test plans to validate for flight
- Perform root cause analysis for test failures and develop mitigation strategies for flight risks
- Example of Avionics Products you’ll be working on: flight computers, networking, star trackers, reaction wheels, magnetorquers, payload controllers, battery packs, solar charger, RF transceiver and decoder
Basic Qualifications
- B.S. in Electrical or Computer Engineer or related field with 3+ years of direct experience in electronics hardware development
- Demonstrated experience developing electrical circuit boards and delivering a working product
- Strong sense of ownership and responsibility for components you contribute towards
- Strong hands-on experience with oscilloscopes, function generators, benchtop digital multimeters, and power supplies
- Understanding of analog/digital filtering, mixed-signal circuit design, analysis, and test
- Knowledge of signal integrity, power, grounding, and general board layout principles
- Experience programming in Python, MATLAB, or another scripting/data analysis language
- Understanding of sensor and actuator technologies including: RTD’s, pressure transducers, DC brushless motors, solenoid valves, thermocouples, hydraulic servo valves, LVDT, RVDT, Rotary/Linear Encoders
- Don’t worry if you don’t check 100% of these boxes… We want to meet you!
Preferred Skills and Experience
- Demonstrated experience in delivering flight avionics for aircraft, launch vehicles, or other space applications
- Schematic and layout experience using Altium Designer
- Strong understanding and experience in environmental testing, such as vibration, shock, thermal, and TVAC
- Direct experience in launch vehicle avionics systems integration
- Experience with high and low speed instrumentation and data acquisition
- Firm understanding of instrumentation, interfaces and sensors including power supplies, serial devices, switch topologies, accelerometers, and 4-20mA sensors
ITAR Requirements
- To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
Benefits
- Exciting team of professionals at the top of their field to working by your side
- Working in El Segundo, CA – an awesome Southern California beach city with quick access to entertainment and outdoor activities
- Equity in a fully funded space startup with potential for significant growth
- 401(k) matching
- Unlimited PTO
- Health insurance, including Vision and Dental
- Lunch and snacks provided on site every day. Dinners provided twice a week.
- Maternity / Paternity leave
Varda Space Industries is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Candidates and employees are always evaluated based on merit, qualifications, and performance. We will never discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, martial status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.
