Mechanisms Engineer - Payloads
About this Role
As a Mechanisms Engineer on Varda’s Payload team, you will develop electromechanical flight hardware that operates in orbit, endures hypersonic reentry, and returns to Earth for inspection and iteration. You will take full-stack responsibility for payloads across both pharmaceutical manufacturing and hypersonic reentry testbed missions—delivering flight hardware from concept through build, test, launch, and recovery.
You’ll collaborate closely with internal specialists and external partners, translate engineering requirements into flight-ready designs, and perform hands-on integration and testing to deliver hardware that flies in months, not years. This role is ideal for engineers with strong mechanical fundamentals who want to grow their breadth across thermal, fluids, avionics, software, and integration while shipping real hardware to space and back.
Responsibilities
Own payload hardware from concept through design, integration, launch, reentry, and recovery
Design mechanisms, structures, thermal/fluid interfaces, and electromechanical assemblies
Run structural, thermal, and fluid analyses (hand calcs, simplified models, and FEA as needed)
Build, instrument, and test prototypes and flight hardware
Work across avionics, software, thermal, systems, and integration teams to define interfaces and ensure compatibility
Serve as the primary technical point of contact for assigned payloads
Generate documentation: requirements, ICDs, procedures, test reports
Support mission operations and post-flight teardown
Contribute to lessons learned and continuous improvement
Basic Qualifications
BS/BEng in Mechanical, Aerospace, Mechatronics, or related engineering discipline
Strong fundamentals in structures, heat transfer, fluids, and dynamics
Hands-on experience designing, integrating, testing, and troubleshooting electromechanical hardware
Ability to communicate effectively across disciplines
Preferred Qualifications
Experience integrating electromechanical actuators, sensors, thermal control hardware and/or fluid control hardware
Experience using CAD (NX preferred) and FEA (Ansys, Nastran)
Exposure to aerospace environmental testing (vibration, TVAC, EMI/EMC)
Customer-facing technical communication experience
Ability to obtain a government security clearance
Pay Range
Salary range:
Engineer I: $105,000 - $139,466/per year
Engineer II: $119,543 - $152,749/per year
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
You will be eligible for incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards