{"id":2051976,"url":"https://alion.io/job/varda-space-industries-avionics-hardware-development-engineer-2","title":"Avionics Hardware Development Engineer","company":{"id":58875,"name":"Varda Space Industries","domain":"varda.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/varda-space-industries","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":80,"open_postings":20,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":1,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":6,"computed_at":"2026-10-10T05:45:15Z"}},"role":"Hardware","role_family":"Hardware","seniority":"middle","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"explicit","locations":["El Segundo, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":105000,"max":157658,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":157658},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":3,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":true,"technologies":[{"name":"MATLAB","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"Altium Designer","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-07T20:24:37Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-07","last_verified_at":"2026-10-11T20:50:12Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":4,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":4},"description":"About Varda\nLow Earth orbit is open for business. Varda is accelerating the development of commercial space infrastructure, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules. Varda’s W-Series vehicles are built, designed, and operated by Varda in-house, including the pharmaceutical processing payloads, the capsules, the C-PICA heat shields, and the satellite buses.\nFrom life-saving pharmaceuticals to more powerful fiber optics, there is a world of products used on Earth today that can only be manufactured in space. Varda is accelerating innovation in the orbital economy by creating both the products and infrastructure needed so space can directly benefit life on Earth. Our mission is to expand the economic bounds of humankind. \nOur team is uniquely suited to accomplishing this goal, with leadership and staff comprised of veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, major pharmaceutical companies and Silicon Valley. Varda was founded in January 2021 by Will Bruey and Delian Asparouhov with significant backing from world class investors including Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, General Catalyst, and Also Capital. \nVarda is headquartered in El Segundo, California, where we have offices and a production facility where our vehicles, equipment, and materials are built, integrated, and tested. Varda also has offices in Washington, DC and Huntsville, AL. \nJoin Varda, and work to create a bustling in-space ecosystem.\nAbout This Role \nAs an Avionics Hardware Development Engineer at Varda, 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! \nSome 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. \nResponsibilities \nDevelop mixed-signal designs and shepherd them through the full product lifecycle including requirements definition, design, development, qualification, and release to production.\nSupport avionics architecture trade studies, analyses, performance characterization and specification, device selection, and roadmap direction.\nSupport risk analyses, design for test/manufacture/cost, and root-cause analysis of test discrepancies.\nDesign electrical circuit boards.\nCollaborate on mechanical design fit, form, and function.\nFunctionally test your hardware through thermal, vibe, shock, TVAC, and EMI.\nWrite vehicle level integration test plans to validate for flight.\nPerform root cause analysis for test failures and develop mitigation strategies for flight risks.\nExample 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.\nBasic Qualifications \nB.S. in Electrical or Computer Engineer or related field.\n3+ years of direct experience designing electronics hardware - schematic capture, PCB layout, and board bring-up.\nDemonstrated experience designing flight hardware circuit boards - schematic capture through functional test - on programs where hardware physically flew or was qualified for flight.\nStrong sense of ownership and responsibility for components you contribute towards.\nStrong hands-on experience with oscilloscopes, function generators, benchtop digital multimeters, and power supplies.\nUnderstanding of analog/digital filtering, mixed-signal circuit design, analysis, and test.\nKnowledge of signal integrity, power, grounding, and general board layout principles.\nExperience programming in Python, MATLAB, or another scripting/data analysis language.\nUnderstanding of sensor and actuator technologies including: RTD’s, pressure transducers, DC brushless motors, solenoid valves, thermocouples, hydraulic servo valves, LVDT, RVDT, Rotary/Linear Encoders.\nDon’t worry if you don’t check 100% of these boxes... We want to meet you!\nPreferred Skills and Experience \nDemonstrated experience in delivering flight avionics for aircraft, launch vehicles, or other space applications.\nSchematic and layout experience using Altium Designer.\nStrong understanding and experience in environmental testing, such as vibration, shock, thermal, and TVAC.\nDirect experience in launch vehicle avionics systems integration.\nExperience with high and low speed instrumentation and data acquisition.\nFirm understanding of instrumentation, interfaces and sensors including power supplies, serial devices, switch topologies, accelerometers, and 4-20mA sensors.\nPay Range\nSalary range:Engineer I: $105,000 - $157,658/per year\nEngineer II: $119,543 - $172,673/per year\n\nThis role is on-site in El Segundo, CA\nLeveling and base salary is determined by job-related skills, education level, experience level, and job performance\nYou will be eligible for long-term incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards\nBenefits\nConsider your benefits covered for launch. At Varda, we invest in benefits and perks that support your health, financial well-being, and life beyond work. Benefits vary by position, with packages designed specifically for our regular full-time employees and interns.\nRegular Full-Time Positions:\nHealth & Wellness \nFlexible PTO policy + 12 paid holidays \n100% company-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans for employees and dependents with FSA and employer-matched HSA options \nVoluntary accident, hospital, critical illness, and pet insurance \n$120/month wellness reimbursement for gym and fitness expenses \n12 weeks of parental leave (with supplemental disability leave for CA mothers) \nFamily building, pregnancy, parenting and menopause benefits via Maven Clinic \nSponsored One Medical memberships for employees and their dependents \nFinancial & Retirement \nSubstantial incentive equity in a fully funded space start-up \n401(k) retirement plan with 6% employer match (immediately vested) \n$20/pay period cell phone reimbursement \nRelocation support for new hires, if needed \nWorkplace Experience & Perks\nFully stocked kitchen with lunch provided daily and dinner provided twice weekly \nCompany and team-bonding events, happy hours and mission-success celebrations \nComplimentary EV charging \n\nIntern Positions:\nHealth & Wellness \nPaid observed holidays\n100% company-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans for employees and dependents with FSA and employer-matched HSA options\n$120/month wellness reimbursement for gym and fitness expenses\nSponsored One Medical memberships for employees and their dependents\nFinancial \n$20/pay period cell phone reimbursement\nUp to $4,000 gross up in relocation support, if eligible\nUp to $850 commute credit through Lyft or car rental reimbursement, if eligible\nWorkplace Experience & Perks\nFully stocked kitchen with lunch provided daily and dinner provided twice weekly\nCompany and team-bonding events, happy hours and mission-success celebrations\nComplimentary EV charging\nITAR Requirements\nVarda, like all employers, must ensure that its employees working in the United States are lawfully authorized to work in the U.S. Additionally, our employees are exposed to and have access to certain export-controlled items. Because our employees are provided access to export-controlled items, our policy is to only hire “U.S. persons” who are permitted to have access to our technology without an export license.\n“US person” means: U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) (i.e., individual admitted to the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum).\nE-Verify Statement\nVarda Space Industries, Inc. participates in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security E-Verify program. The E-Verify program is an Internet-based employment eligibility verification system operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Learn more about the E-Verify program.\nE-Verify Notice Right To Work Notice\nRead more Read more\nVarda 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.","description_format":"text","description_chars":8885,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":3,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Equity","Parental leave","Retirement plans","Stock options","Vision insurance"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":true,"industries":["Satellite Manufacturing","Space Services"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-07T22:10:03Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":56,"band":"ok","label":"Likely open","p_open":1,"p_active":0.59,"p_room":0.945,"age_days":2,"expected_fill_days":6,"reasons":["conf:2","stale_co","velocity","win:mid"],"computed_at":"2026-10-10T05:45:15Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":157658,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/varda-space-industries-avionics-hardware-development-engineer-2","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/varda-space-industries-avionics-hardware-development-engineer-2.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-11T21:37:43Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":10655,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-12T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":58875},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=58875"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fvarda-space-industries-avionics-hardware-development-engineer-2"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fvarda-space-industries-avionics-hardware-development-engineer-2"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fvarda-space-industries-avionics-hardware-development-engineer-2"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/varda-space-industries-avionics-hardware-development-engineer-2\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fvarda-space-industries-avionics-hardware-development-engineer-2"}]}