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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 Senior Mechanisms Engineer, you will have full ownership of a range of both spacecraft and microgravity materials manufacturing hardware. In this position, you will drive mechanisms hardware development including design, analysis, build, and testing at the sub and full system levels. You will have significant freedom on the vehicle design while driving the full vehicle design, build, test, fly process.
The mechanisms team is responsible for ensuring our spacecraft and payloads can perform the necessary functions to operate on orbit. These functions are essential to mission success and helping Varda become successful in bringing products back from space. Previous projects have ranged from electromechanical pharmaceutical manufacturing payloads, capsule separation mechanisms, and parachute door release devices. The Mechanisms Engineer will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team, integrating components with structural and electrical subsystems. This role will have a unique opportunity to develop hardware from the ground-up and have the ability to grow as Varda grows.
Responsibilities
- Derive hardware requirements and perform initial design trades given open-ended problem statements and stakeholder feedback
- Evaluate the global impact of hardware design decisions ensure the best system-level solution
- Work closely with customers, product engineers/scientists, and flight hardware engineers (thermal, avionics, structures, software, integration, etc.) to evaluate and optimize flight hardware
- Drive the full development cycle of a variety of spacecraft parts (electromechanical, fluid systems, structures, etc.) to meet defined flight requirements. This includes architecture definition, component selection, system design, analysis, testing, qualification, etc.
- Own the hardware delivery timeline and overall success from concept to launch
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical field with 5+ years of professional experience in related applications (e.g., lab equipment, aerospace systems, medical devices, thermal management systems, etc.)
- Ability to perform appropriate fluid, structural, and thermal analyses to demonstrate that a payload design meets requirements (e.g., Hand Calcs, Excel, Ansys, Femap, Nastran, Comsol, etc.)
- Excellent 3D CAD skills (ideally NX) and experience translating models to production intent (detailed drawings, work instructions, etc.)
- Ability to drive integrated subsystem development with inputs from technical contributors across avionics, structures, software, GNC, systems, thermal, integration and test, etc.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills with an aptitude for interdisciplinary technical communication
- Ability to successfully respond to evolving requirements in a fast-moving organization
- Excitement about making history at the forefront of both the space and pharmaceutical industries
- Knowledge of electro-mechanical components including motors, valves, servo devices, and sensors
- Hands-on project experience with complex mechanical systems
- Understanding of GD&T and manufacturing processes
- Understanding of system impacts to component design decisions including packaging, thermal, environmental, and loads
Preferred Skills And Experience
- 7+ years of experience design structures or mechanical systems
- Proven track record of delivering products to market
- Project management or technical project leadership experience
- Experience with aerospace hardware development practices (e.g., qualification testing practices, design for typical space environments, cleanliness, etc.)
- Experience working on highly integrated systems (i.e. software, electrical, mechanical, thermal, fluids, optics)
- Experience working with electromechanical components including valves, motors, pumps, etc., ideally at small scales
- Ability to design and implement subsystem development tests as needed to guide overall hardware development
- Concept to delivery ownership of a complex moving mechanical components. Bonus points if this system operated in space!
Pay Range
- Senior Mechanisms Engineer: $135,000 – $185,000 per year
- On site role located in El Segundo, CA
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.
