Mechanisms Engineer - Payloads

About Varda

Low 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.

From 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.

Our 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.

Varda 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.

Join Varda, and work to create a bustling in-space ecosystem.

About this Role

As a Mechanisms Engineer on Varda’s Payload team, you will develop electromechanical flight hardware that operates in orbit, endures hypersonic reentry, and returns to Earth for inspection and iteration. You will take full-stack responsibility for payloads across both pharmaceutical manufacturing and hypersonic reentry testbed missions—delivering flight hardware from concept through build, test, launch, and recovery.

You’ll collaborate closely with internal specialists and external partners, translate engineering requirements into flight-ready designs, and perform hands-on integration and testing to deliver hardware that flies in months, not years. This role is ideal for engineers with strong mechanical fundamentals who want to grow their breadth across thermal, fluids, avionics, software, and integration while shipping real hardware to space and back.

Responsibilities

• Own payload hardware from concept through design, integration, launch, reentry, and recovery
• Design mechanisms, structures, thermal/fluid interfaces, and electromechanical assemblies
• Run structural, thermal, and fluid analyses (hand calcs, simplified models, and FEA as needed)
• Build, instrument, and test prototypes and flight hardware
• Work across avionics, software, thermal, systems, and integration teams to define interfaces and ensure compatibility
• Serve as the primary technical point of contact for assigned payloads
• Generate documentation: requirements, ICDs, procedures, test reports
• Support mission operations and post-flight teardown
• Contribute to lessons learned and continuous improvement

Basic Qualifications

• BS/BEng in Mechanical, Aerospace, Mechatronics, or related engineering discipline
• Strong fundamentals in structures, heat transfer, fluids, and dynamics
• Hands-on experience designing, integrating, testing, and troubleshooting electromechanical hardware
• Ability to communicate effectively across disciplines

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience integrating electromechanical actuators, sensors, thermal control hardware and/or fluid control hardware
• Experience using CAD (NX preferred) and FEA (Ansys, Nastran)
• Exposure to aerospace environmental testing (vibration, TVAC, EMI/EMC)
• Customer-facing technical communication experience
• Ability to obtain a government security clearance

Pay Range

• Salary range:
  • Engineer I: $105,000 - $139,466/per year
  • Engineer II: $119,543 - $152,749/per year
• This role is on-sitein El Segundo, CA
• Leveling and base salary is determined by job-related skills, education level, experience level, and job performance
• You will be eligible for incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards

Benefits

Consider 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.

Regular Full-Time Positions:

Health & Wellness

• Flexible PTO policy + 12 paid holidays
• 100% company-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans for employees and dependents with FSA and employer-matched HSA options
• Voluntary accident, hospital, critical illness, and pet insurance
• $120/month wellness reimbursement for gym and fitness expenses
• 12 weeks of parental leave (with supplemental disability leave for CA mothers)
• Family building, pregnancy, parenting and menopause benefits via Maven Clinic
• Sponsored One Medical memberships for employees and their dependents

Financial & Retirement

• Substantial incentive equity in a fully funded space start-up
• 401(k) retirement plan with 6% employer match (immediately vested)
• $20/pay period cell phone reimbursement
• Relocation support for new hires, if needed

Workplace Experience & Perks

• Fully stocked kitchen with lunch provided daily and dinner provided twice weekly
• Company and team-bonding events, happy hours and mission-success celebrations
• Complimentary EV charging
  

Intern Positions:

Health & Wellness

• Paid observed holidays
• 100% company-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans for employees and dependents with FSA and employer-matched HSA options
• $120/month wellness reimbursement for gym and fitness expenses
• Sponsored One Medical memberships for employees and their dependents

Financial

• $20/pay period cell phone reimbursement
• Up to $4,000 gross up in relocation support, if eligible
• Up to $850 commute credit through Lyft or car rental reimbursement, if eligible

Workplace Experience & Perks

• Fully stocked kitchen with lunch provided daily and dinner provided twice weekly
• Company and team-bonding events, happy hours and mission-success celebrations
• Complimentary EV charging

ITAR Requirements

Varda, 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.

“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).