Spacecraft Process Engineer, Manufacturability

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.Vardas 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.

At Varda Build Reliability & Process Engineers partners closely with the design and manufacturing teams to right-size processes and controls to enable scaling the production of spacecraft hardware. Build Reliability Engineers ensure production processes yield verified reliable hardware at rate. You will flex beyond Build Reliability to support Quality Flight Reliability and Mission Assurance. The ideal candidate is a responsible collaborative process-oriented engineer with hands-on hardware design/test/manufacturing/troubleshooting experience.

• Partner with design engineering and manufacturing teamsto create test manufacturability and inspection plans forall vehiclehardware.
• Contain suspect or known non-conforming product providing guidance to quality inspectors technicians shop supervisors and engineers.
• Lead failure investigations in production test and operation; identifying and mitigating immediate and underlying root causes to reduce risk and improve the reliability of designs and processes.
• Provide critical peer review of hardware during design reviews and acceptance and qualification test campaigns.
• Perform failure modes and effects analyses build requirements compliance matrix tools and ensure adequate test coverage change management and manufacturability of flight hardware.
• Own vehicle level deliverables for regulatory bodies including requirements compliance functional or flight hazard analyses and verification evidence.
• Support Mission Assurances vehicle level risk management and identification / tracking / execution of mitigations.

• 3 years professional experience in aerospace design quality or related engineering role.
• Bachelors degree in aerospace computer science electrical manufacturing mechanical or material sciences engineering.
• Hands-on hardware test qualification troubleshooting or failure analysis experience.
• Commitment to lean quality principles without compromising safety or reliability.
• Demonstrated application of process controls in high volume manufacturing test and quality environments.
• Experience generating processing and/or analyzing data for production insight.
• Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills with a drive to innovate and improve reliability in cutting-edge technology.

• Full project lifecycle ownership experience (cradle-to-grave).
• Proficiency with quality tools such as measurement systems analysis design of experiments statistical process control root cause analysis and corrective action advanced product quality planning (APQP) metrology process failure mode and effects analysis (PFMEA) control plans and various problem-solving approaches.
• Hands-on knowledge of CNC machining additive manufacturing casting welding fastening or other special manufacturing processes.

• Salary range: $109000 - $152000 annually.
• This role is on-site in El Segundo CA.
• Leveling and base salary is determined by job-related skills education level experience level and job performance.
• Offer compensation also includes the ability to receive stock options under the Companys Equity Incentive Plan.

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).