Principal Avionics Hardware Development Engineer

Employer description

About Varda

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. Varda’s 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.

About This Role 

As a Principal Avionics Hardware Engineer at Varda, you will be the architect and designer of flight critical electrical hardware for our satellite bus, reentry vehicle, and customer payloads. Some examples include our flight computers, satellite power systems, sensors for navigation and monitoring pharmaceutical manufacturing. You will define subsystem requirements based on high level mission and company objectives, design to those requirements, and ensure the system as manufactured meets those requirements. In addition to designing and building electrical hardware, you will define its safe operating criteria and support our mission operations team on the risk tradeoffs of operating near the bounds of those criteria.  

At Varda, we believe that the trip to space and back is the easiest trip our hardware takes. We stress our components above and beyond the levels it should expect to see in flight and investigate our failures thoroughly. 

Responsibilities 

• PCB level electronics design at all lifecycle stages, from schematic capture, to layout, to design validation, fabrication/assembly, and manufacturing test.
• Distilling high level company or mission objectives into requirements, designs, and developmental milestones for your subsystems.
• Avionics subject matter expert for satellite, reentry vehicle, and payload hardware. Providing support to those using your products, namely the Varda GNC, pharmaceutical, mission operations, and integration teams.
• Actively collaborate with cross functional teams such as flight software, thermal, GNC, and structures to determine across vehicle system impacts of design decisions.
• Ownership of product acceptance and qualification testing for space environments (Thermal, Vibe, Shock, TVAC, and EMI) with support from the Avionics Test team.
• Provide direction on system-level integration test plans to verify your hardware performs as expected at the vehicle level.
• Perform root cause analysis on test failures and implement holistic mitigation strategies for flight risks.
• Mentor junior engineers on their projects, challenges, and design methodologies setting a high bar for the future leaders of Varda.

Basic Qualifications

• B.S. in Electrical or Computer Engineering or related engineering discipline.
• 8+ years of direct experience designing electronics hardware — schematic capture, PCB layout, board bring-up, and environmental qualification across multiple hardware domains..
• Demonstrated experience contributing to complex electronics systems from design to launch (to space or otherwise).
• Demonstrable knowledge of signal integrity, power and grounding board layout principles.
• Strong hands-on lab experience with oscilloscopes, function generators, benchtop digital multimeters, and power supplies.
• Experience programming in Python, MATLAB, or another scripting/data analysis language.
• Demonstrated experience implementing the hardware layer of numerous on-board and over-harness communication protocols such as SPI, RS422, and 1000BASE-T.
• Experience designing analog/digital filtering and mixed-signal circuits.
• Power electronics design experience including load switches and switch mode DC:DC converters.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Industry leading electronic circuit design and analysis skills.
• Strong supporting general knowledge in physics, math, and chemistry fundamentals for designing electronics that experience unique environments.
• Understanding of aerospace sensor and actuator technologies including: RTDs, pressure transducers, brushless motors, solenoid valves, thermocouples, stepper motors, and rotary/linear Encoders.

Pay Range

• Salary range: $181,913-$232,444/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 long-term incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards

Benefits

Consider your benefits covered for launch. At Varda, we invest in benefits and perks that support your health, financial well-being, and life beyond work. Benefits vary by position, with packages designed specifically for our regular full-time employees and interns. 

Regular Full-Time Positions: 

Health & Wellness  

• 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  

• Sponsored One Medical memberships for employees and their dependents  

Financial & Retirement  

• Substantial incentive equity in a fully funded space start-up  

• 401(k) retirement plan with 6% employer match (immediately vested) 

• $20/pay period cell phone reimbursement  

• Relocation support for new hires, if needed  

Workplace Experience & Perks  

• Fully stocked kitchen with lunch provided daily and dinner provided twice weekly  

• Company and team-bonding events, happy hours and mission-success celebrations 

• Complimentary EV charging 

Benefits for Internship Positions: 

Health & Wellness   

• Paid observed holidays.   

• 100% company-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans for employees and dependents with FSA and employer-matched HSA options.  

• $120/month wellness reimbursement for gym and fitness expenses.   

• Sponsored One Medical memberships for employees and their dependents.   

Financial   

• $20/pay period cell phone reim...