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Job Description

Overview

Varda is a company focused on developing commercial space infrastructure, including in-orbit pharmaceutical processing and reentry capsules. The Senior Mechanical Test Engineer, Automation will build test infrastructure to qualify spaceflight hardware for orbit, integrating various systems into cohesive test platforms.

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 test infrastructure including various test stands and systems.
  • Build cabinets, wire panels, and manage systems from electrical design through commissioning.
  • Collaborate with propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing teams to meet aggressive timelines.
  • 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.
  • 5+ 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 working 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

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

Additional Information

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

Benefits

401k
Health Insurance
PTO
Dental
Vision
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How this job compares in El Segundo, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $77/hr, this posting sits about 79% above the $43/hr median for welding jobs in El Segundo, CA — toward the top of a $38–$60/hr middle band drawn from 16 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 94% 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 19 other active welding openings in El Segundo, CA right now, from 11 different employers. 12 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 600 other active welding openings from 271 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 4 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 (37), Vast (18), and Relativity Space (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 Gardena at $73/hr, Redondo Beach at $72/hr, and Pasadena at $61/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

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. Senior Terrestrial Mechanical Test Engineer, Automation figures were last recalculated when this page was built.