{"id":3350278,"url":"https://alion.io/job/varda-space-industries-senior-ground-support-mechanical-design-engineer","title":"Senior Ground Support Mechanical Design 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":24,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":1,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":6,"computed_at":"2026-10-30T05:48:23Z"}},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"senior","employment_type":null,"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":140333,"max":179314,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":179314},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":true,"technologies":[{"name":"EtherCAT","optional":false},{"name":"Siemens NX","optional":false},{"name":"SolidWorks","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-27T14:19:36Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-27","last_verified_at":"2026-10-31T01:58:25Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":3,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":3},"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\nThe Senior Mechanical Design Engineer builds bespoke test infrastructure that qualifies spaceflight hardware for orbit. They design, build, and own sophisticated ground support equipment (GSE) and test systems: propulsion test stands, environmental qualification chambers, spacecraft-level integration testing and more! Our stack is modern, including a custom PLC framework and Beckhoff EtherCAT tooling built in-house.\nEnable high cadence, production enabling equipment is priority #1. \nIntegrate mechanical, electrical, fluid, and instrumentation systems into cohesive test platforms.\nImplement solutions from concept through fabrication, assembly, commissioning, and ongoing support.\nManage both rapid R&D test setups and long-term test infrastructure improvements.\nResponsibilities\nDesign, build, and maintain test systems and ground support equipment (GSE) for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing operations including data acquisition systems (Pelican DAQ, Load cell DAQ, Accelerometer DAQ, prop test stands, fill carts), thermal control systems (chillers, heaters, Ln2), PLC cabinets, and gas/liquid systems (valves, ducers, solenoids, flowmeters).\nTest infrastructure achieves >99% uptime and predictable performance.\nBe the \"Responsible Engineer\" for test infrastructure including centrifuges, TVACs, prop test stands, prop fill carts, prop gas benches, prop water flow stands and torch test stands.\nBuild cabinets, wire panels, and own systems end-to-end from electrical design through commissioning.\nPartner with propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing teams to deliver test infrastructure that meets their needs on aggressive timelines.\nRead, deploy and make minor edits to Varda's internal PLC framework and EtherCAT tooling to support evolving program need.\nChampion sustainable engineering practices that enable new engineers to ramp quickly on the tech stack and maintain production systems reliably. All systems are thoroughly documented, with clear, accessible procedures and schematics.\nBasic Qualifications\nBachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, or related technical field.\n5+ years of industry experience in mechanical design or industrial automation.\nExtensive experience using Solidworks, NX CAD or comparable.\nExperience with electrical wiring for cabinets, PLCs, harnesses, connectors, etc.\nExperience with Altium or comparable electronic schematic design software. We are migrating to EPLAN!\nHands-on experience working with high-pressure gas or fluid systems.\nEnvironmental test experience, including TVAC, thermal cycling, and vibration testing.\nExperience developing propulsion test stands or other complex, multi-subsystem test infrastructure.\nHands-on experience integrating with industrial hardware over protocols such as EtherCAT, Modbus (TCP/RTU), RS-232/485 serial, or similar communication standards.\nExperience with at least one modern PLC ecosystem - ideally Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 with structured text (IEC 61131-3), or a demonstrated eagerness to develop deep expertise there.\nProven ability to thrive in a fast-paced startup environment where priorities shift, and end-to-end ownership of problems is expected.\nPreferred Skills and Experience\nAerospace experience, particularly in spacecraft testing or GSE development.\nFamiliarity with spacecraft qualification standards and associated documentation requirements.\nExperience developing safety-related control systems and evaluating proposed solutions for reducing safety-related risks.\nProgramming, either low level firmware or high-level Python.\nPay Range\nSalary range: Senior: $140,333 - $179,314/ per year.\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 incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards.\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":6875,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":true,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Stock options"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Satellite Manufacturing","Space Services"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-27T18:22:50Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":56,"band":"ok","label":"Likely open","p_open":1,"p_active":0.626,"p_room":0.9,"age_days":2,"expected_fill_days":6,"reasons":["conf:1","stale_co","velocity","win:mid","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-30T05:48:23Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":179314,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/varda-space-industries-senior-ground-support-mechanical-design-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/varda-space-industries-senior-ground-support-mechanical-design-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-31T05:19:01Z","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":7611,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-01T00:00:00Z"}},"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-senior-ground-support-mechanical-design-engineer"},{"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-senior-ground-support-mechanical-design-engineer"},{"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-senior-ground-support-mechanical-design-engineer"},{"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-senior-ground-support-mechanical-design-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fvarda-space-industries-senior-ground-support-mechanical-design-engineer"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3350278}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"varda.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3350278},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. Docs: https://alion.io/developers"}}