Senior Mission Design Engineer
Varda Space Industries · El Segundo, California, United States
Posted about 3 months ago · $169,067 - $216,031
or apply directly on Varda Space Industries's site. We never take the application ourselves.
Is this posting real?
- This role has been open
- 81 days Varda Space Industries's roles stay open a median of 81 days
- Reposted
- No
- Salary listed
- Yes 81% of Varda Space Industries's roles list one
- Ghost-job risk at Varda Space Industries
- high 85 stale, 0 reposted of 86 open
- Hiring momentum
- 215 roles opened in the last 90 days ↑ up vs. the prior 90 days
- Last confirmed on the employer's board
- 2026-10-23
Measured from postings appearing on and disappearing from Varda Space Industries's own greenhouse board since 2026-08-03. Full hiring picture for Varda Space Industries.
About this role
As a Senior Mission Design Engineer at Varda, you will lead the design and implementation of mission planning and orbital mechanics for commercial reentry vehicles. Your role involves trajectory design, optimization, and collaboration with a multidisciplinary engineering team to ensure the successful return of manufactured products to Earth. You will also develop modeling and simulation tools to support mission operations and contribute to the advancement of in-space industry.
- benefits
- 5/5
- freshness
- 1/5
- career value
- 5/5
- role clarity
- 5/5
- pay transparency
- 5/5
Scored from the posting itself — how clearly the role is described, how much it says about pay and benefits, and how recently it was listed. Not a judgement of Varda Space Industries as an employer.
What you need
- B.S. degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical engineering, physics, or related field
- 5+ proven years of experience, or PhD with 3+ years of relevant experience
- Demonstrated knowledge in designing, modeling, testing, and flying orbital trajectories or aerospace guidance, navigation, and control systems
- Highly adept software and model development skills, particularly in C++/Python/Matlab
- Understanding of orbital mechanics, modeling and simulation, and software development
- Experience anchoring/fitting first principles models to test data or high-fidelity external simulations
Nice to have
- Understanding of multi-body dynamics, flexible body dynamics, gas dynamics, fluids, and thermodynamics
- Experience developing and verifying physical models for the purpose of control design, component sizing, and system performance evaluation
- Experience supporting flight test or flying spacecraft
- Ability to continuously manage risk and provide solutions with lean software development techniques
- Experience with project management for cradle-to-grave projects
What you get
- Flexible PTO policy + 12 paid holidays
- 100% company-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans for employees and dependents with FSA and employer-matched HSA options
- Voluntary accident, hospital, critical illness, and pet insurance
- $120/month wellness reimbursement for gym and fitness expenses
- 12 weeks of parental leave (with supplemental disability leave for CA mothers)
- Family building, pregnancy, parenting and menopause benefits via Maven Clinic
Worth weighing
- No remote work mentioned; this role is on-site in El Segundo, CA
- Startup environment may involve rapid changes and uncertainties
- High level of technical expertise required, which may limit candidate pool
Summarised from Varda Space Industries's posting. Read the full original.
Listed by Varda Space Industries on their greenhouse job board, last confirmed open on 2026-10-23. PitchMeAI is not the employer.
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