Back to Jobs

Job Description

Overview

Varda is a company focused on developing commercial space infrastructure, including in-orbit pharmaceutical processing and reentry capsules. The Mechanical Test Engineer II, Automation will build test infrastructure to qualify spaceflight hardware for orbit, working with modern technology and collaborating with various engineering teams.

Responsibilities

  • Design, build, and maintain test systems and ground support equipment (GSE) for flight hardware qualification.
  • Ensure test infrastructure achieves >99% uptime and predictable performance.
  • Act as the 'Responsible Engineer' for various test infrastructure systems.
  • Build cabinets, wire panels, and manage systems from electrical design through commissioning.
  • Collaborate with propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing teams to meet testing needs.
  • Read and make minor edits to Varda's internal PLC framework and EtherCAT tooling.
  • Champion sustainable engineering practices and maintain thorough documentation.

Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related technical field.
  • 3+ years of industry experience in mechanical design or industrial automation.
  • Extensive experience using Solidworks, NX CAD or comparable.
  • Experience with electrical wiring for cabinets, PLCs, harnesses, connectors, etc.
  • Experience with Altium or comparable electronic schematic design software.
  • Hands-on experience with high-pressure gas or fluid systems.
  • Environmental test experience, including TVAC, thermal cycling, and vibration testing.
  • Experience developing propulsion test stands or complex multi-subsystem test infrastructure.
  • Hands-on experience integrating with industrial hardware over communication protocols.
  • Experience with at least one modern PLC ecosystem, ideally Beckhoff TwinCAT 3.

Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • PTO
  • 401k

Additional Information

  • This role is on-site in El Segundo, CA.

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
PTO
401k
Apply for This Position

How this job compares in El Segundo, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $65/hr, this posting sits about 13% above the $58/hr median for welding jobs in El Segundo, CA — toward the top of a $38–$77/hr middle band drawn from 16 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 69% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. Pay that far above local median usually comes attached to something: a harder cert requirement, travel, night shift, or overtime that isn't really optional. Worth establishing which before you accept.

The local market in El Segundo, CA

We're tracking 21 other active welding openings in El Segundo, CA right now, from 11 different employers. 15 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 553 other active welding openings from 252 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in El Segundo, or widen the search to California.

Varda Space Industries currently has 2 other openings live in California, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in California at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are SpaceX (34), Honeywell Aerospace (21), and Aerotek (17). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within California, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Redondo Beach at $72/hr, El Segundo at $58/hr, and Torrance at $47/hr. El Segundo is among them.

Similar openings near El Segundo, CA

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Mechanical Test Engineer II, Automation figures were last recalculated when this page was built.