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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 Terrestrial Mechanical Design & Test Engineer, Automation will build test infrastructure for spaceflight hardware, ensuring high performance and reliability.

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 infrastructures.
  • 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, deploy, and make minor edits to 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 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 various communication protocols.
  • Experience with at least one modern PLC ecosystem, ideally Beckhoff TwinCAT 3.

Additional Information

  • This role is on-site in El Segundo, CA.
  • Salary range: $140,333 - $179,314 per year.
  • Eligible for incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards.
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How this job compares in El Segundo, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $77/hr, this posting sits about 67% above the $46/hr median for welding jobs in El Segundo, CA — toward the top of a $38–$65/hr middle band drawn from 21 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 81% 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 25 other active welding openings in El Segundo, CA right now, from 13 different employers. 20 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 594 other active welding openings from 272 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 5 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), Welding Shop in Los Angeles, CA (17), and Honeywell Aerospace (16). 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 Pasadena at $51/hr, Santa Ana at $48/hr, and Torrance at $47/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 Design & Test Engineer, Automation figures were last recalculated when this page was built.