Systems and Network Administrator

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.

Varda is looking for a Systems & Network Administrator who thrives at the intersection of cutting-edge aerospace and enterprise-grade infrastructure. Youll be the architect and guardian of our on-premise and multicloud network the backbone that powers everything from engineering innovation to manufacturing operations. Youll have real ownership over critical systems built on Cisco Meraki Microsoft Azure and AWS managing endpoint fleets across macOS Windows and Linux via Jamf and Intune and enforcing zero-trust access through Zscaler. Youll shape how we scale infrastructure across both cloud and physical environments working alongside Engineering Integration and Test Manufacturing and Business Operations teams doing things that have never been done before. If you want your work to matter and your decisions to leave a mark this is that role.

This is a full-time exempt position located in our El Segundo headquarters.

• Design deploy and maintain a Cisco Meraki environment spanning MX security appliances MS switches MR wireless access points and MV cameras and keep it performing flawlessly as we grow.
• Own network health end-to-end: proactively monitor throughput and availability via the Meraki Dashboard and hunt down bottlenecks and security events before they become problems.
• Architect and manage VLANs DHCP DNS firewall rules site-to-site VPNs and traffic-shaping policies across both production and office environments.
• Build and maintain resilient cloud networking across Microsoft Azure (VNets NSGs ExpressRoute/VPN Gateways Azure Firewall Private Endpoints) and AWS (VPCs Transit Gateway Security Groups).
• Lead network expansions office buildouts and infrastructure refreshes from whiteboard to production.
• Administer and harden Windows and Linux servers owning patching performance monitoring and backup/recovery.
• Manage a diverse endpoint fleet across macOS Windows and Linux via Jamf Pro Microsoft Intune and supplemental Linux tooling including configuration profiles OS patching compliance policies and app deployment.
• Administer endpoint security tooling including ThreatLocker and CrowdStrike collaborating closely with IT Support on imaging provisioning and compliance enforcement.
• Manage physical security and AV systems including Kisi access control and Envoy visitor management.
• Operate and optimize Zscaler ZPA and ZIA for zero-trust network access tuning policies monitoring connector health and resolving client issues.
• Own IT asset tracking network documentation cloud topology diagrams and MDM runbooks in Confluence leaving things better than you found them.
• Write clean maintainable automation in Bash PowerShell and Python to streamline operations reduce toil and improve visibility.
• Champion compliance efforts tied to Vanta ITAR NIST 800-171 and GCC-High particularly around network segmentation endpoint posture and cloud security.
• Lead special projects from kickoff to completion with full accountability for outcomes.

• Associates or Bachelors degree in IT Network Engineering Computer Science or a related field or equivalent experience that speaks for itself.
• 3 years in network or systems administration with a meaningful networking focus.
• Demonstrated Cisco Meraki proficiency: security appliance policies switch port configuration SSID management and client troubleshooting.
• Strong networking fundamentals: TCP/IP DNS DHCP VLANs 802.1X spanning tree routing and Wi-Fi (802.11ax).
• Solid Azure networking knowledge (VNets subnets NSGs VPN Gateways) and working familiarity with AWS (VPCs Security Groups).
• MDM experience across macOS Windows and Linux enrollment configuration profiles compliance and patch management.
• Confident Windows and Linux server administration: patching hardening and service management.
• Self-directed and composed under pressure with a track record of managing competing priorities without dropping the ball.
• Clear communicator who can translate technical complexity for any audience.

• Cisco Meraki certifications (ECMS1 ECMS2) or deep hands-on experience across the full MX MS MR and MV product line.
• Microsoft certifications such as AZ-700 (Azure Network Engineer) or AZ-104 (Azure Administrator).
• Enterprise-scale Jamf Pro and Microsoft Intune experience plus familiarity with Linux endpoint tooling like Landscape or Fleet.
• Hands-on zero-trust experience with Zscaler ZPA/ZIA in production environments.
• Real multicloud networking chops Azure VNets NSGs ExpressRoute and AWS VPCs Transit Gateway or Direct Connect.
• Familiarity with compliance frameworks including NIST 800-171 CMMC and ITAR and how they shape network and endpoint security decisions.
• Experience supporting VoIP multicast or industrial IoT on enterprise networks.
• Background in a high-growth startup or aerospace environment you know how to build for scale while staying nimble.

Salary Range: $110000 $130000 per year

Job-related skills education experience and performance determine leveling and base salary. Youll also be eligible for incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards.

• Equityin a fully funded space startup with serious growth potential
• 401(k) matching
• UnlimitedPTO
• Health vision and dental insurance
• Dailylunch and snacks on site; dinners twice a week
• Maternity/Paternity leave

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).