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 Mechanisms & Payload Internship offers students the opportunity to work on impactful projects related to in-space manufacturing and reentry testbed payloads while gaining technical and professional experience.

Responsibilities

  • Own or contribute to hardware or software design to support development of spacecraft or payload.
  • Create or support test campaigns and build test stands.
  • Perform necessary analysis to support development and testing.

Requirements

  • Experience with mechanical CAD (NX preferred).
  • Experience designing, building, and/or operating electromechanical hardware.
  • Basic programming skills in at least one language (python preferred).
  • Comfort using common hand tools and interest in learning how to use machine tools.
  • Pursuing a bachelor's or master’s degree from an accredited college or university in Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Electrical Engineering.

Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • PTO

Additional Information

  • Internships are full-time and on-site in Los Angeles, CA.
  • Intern projects will be tailored to company needs and student skillsets.

Compensation

  • Hourly Rate: $33.00

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
PTO
Apply for This Position

How this job compares in El Segundo, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $33/hr, this posting comes in about 23% below the $43/hr median for welding jobs in El Segundo, CA, where the middle half runs $38–$65/hr across 16 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 0% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. That gap is worth raising directly — in a market this size there is normally room to negotiate toward the median, particularly if you already hold the certifications the posting asks for.

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. Mechanisms & Payload Internship - Summer 2027 figures were last recalculated when this page was built.