Materials and Process Engineer II

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 Materials and Process Engineer II at Varda, you will have the opportunity to apply your materials science fundamentals to the special processes that protect and build our reentry vehicles. This role supports the development, qualification, and control of processes for flight hardware, including ablative and thermal protection systems (TPS), coatings, polymers, composites, adhesives, wet chemical processing, and metallic structures. The Materials and Process Engineer II designs experiments and pathfinder hardware, characterizes materials through mechanical, thermal, chemical, and microstructural testing, and uses statistics to define robust process windows. You will also contribute to root cause and corrective action (RCCA), material review board (MRB), and failure investigations, working directly with design engineers, technicians, and quality to resolve material and process non-conformances. Materials and Process Engineers are a vital part of helping Varda build flight hardware consistently and at increasing cadence. The focus of the job is to turn well-understood materials and processes into repeatable, documented results for every vehicle Varda produces

Responsibilities

Develop, qualify, and maintain special processes for flight hardware, including ablative and thermal protection systems (TPS), coatings, polymers, composites, adhesives, and processes applicable to metallic structures

Develop and control wet chemical processes (cleaning, etching, passivation, conversion coating and similar).

Implement corrosion prevention and control practices, and assess chemical compatibility between materials, process fluids, and service environments

Design experiments, methodologies, and pathfinder hardware to de-risk processes, and characterize materials and processes through mechanical, thermal, chemical, and microstructural testing, and use statistical methods to define process windows

Define tooling, fixture, test equipment, cleanliness, contamination control, and material handling requirements for assigned processes and flight hardware

Develop and maintain Special Process Specifications, Process Qualification and Validation Records and Control Plans

Lead and contribute to RCCAs, MRB and failure review boards for material and process non-conformances, including corrosion, surface contamination, defects found in NDE, test, or inspection, failure analysis (fractography, metallography, SEM/EDS, chemical analysis) in-house or through partner labs.

Basic Qualifications

B.S. in Materials Science, Mechanical, Chemical, or Aerospace Engineering, or similar, or demonstrated equivalent experience and expertise.

1+ years of materials, process, or manufacturing engineering experience in aerospace or another high-reliability industry.

Expertise in materials science (metals, polymers, ceramics, composites) and their failure modes, corrosion mechanisms, and basic chemistry (acid-base reactions, pH, material compatibility with process chemicals).

Hands-on experience with at least one relevant process or lab method (composite layup and cure, bonding, coating application, ablative or TPS fabrication, wet chemical processing, welding, machining, mechanical testing, or metallography).

Expertise in basic statistics (descriptive statistics, distributions, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, regression).

Expertise reading engineering drawings, material specifications, and test reports, with strong first-principles problem solving to diagnose process defects and drive corrective action.

Experience working safely with process chemicals, including acids, bases, and solvents, using proper PPE and handling procedures.

Must be physically able to regularly lift 25 lbs., bend, stoop, and stand for extended periods while working directly with flight hardware.

Preferred Skills and Experience

M.S. or PhD in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or a related discipline.

Experience with ablative or high-temperature materials (phenolic-impregnated carbon ablator, carbon-carbon, ceramic matrix composites, silicone or epoxy-based ablatives).

Experience with polymer and composite processing (prepreg layup, autoclave and out-of-autoclave cure, resin infusion, potting, bonding, cure kinetics).

Experience with coatings, surface treatments, including thermal barrier coatings, anodization, conversion coatings, passivation, paints, primers, including surface prep and adhesion testing.

Experience with corrosion testing and evaluation (salt spray, galvanic compatibility, crevice and stress corrosion, electrochemical methods).

Experience with wet chemical processing, including bath chemistry monitoring and control, high-purity (deionized or reverse osmosis) water systems, and precision cleaning with cleanliness verification (NVR, particulate, water-break).

Experience with aerospace metals (stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, nickel alloys) and their processing, including heat treatment, welding, brazing, and finishing.

Experience with SPC, measurement system analysis (gage R&R), process capability (Cp/Cpk), and DOE with experience using statistical software (JMP, Minitab, Python or similar).

Experience with thermal and chemical analysis (DSC, TGA, DMA, FTIR), mechanical testing (tensile, flexure, shear, peel, hardness), and NDE (ultrasonic, dye penetrant, X-ray, thermography), including interpreting results.

Experience writing material and process specifications, test reports, and engineering memos.

Experience supporting process qualification, first article builds, and RCCAs.

Familiarity with space environment M&P requirements (outgassing, contamination control, electrical bonding and grounding) and relevant standards (AWS, ASTM, AMS, MMPDS).

Pay Range

Salary Range: $119,543 - $172,673/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

ITAR Requirements

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 permit