People Operations Specialist

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 the Role

Varda is looking for a highly organized, proactive People Operations Specialist to help keep the day-to-day People function running smoothly. This role will support recruiting, onboarding, HR administration, and the overall employee experience.

This is a hands-on role and an important point of contact for candidates, new hires, employees, and managers. The ideal person enjoys being at the center of the action, takes ownership of the details, anticipates what needs to happen next, and helps create a seamless and welcoming experience for employees from candidate through offboarding.

Key Responsibilities

Human Resources Administration

Coordinate the new hire onboarding process from accepted offer through the employee’s first-day experience, ensuring all required documentation, systems access, communications, and internal coordination are completed.

Serve as a key point of contact for new hires, helping create an organized, welcoming, and consistent onboarding experience.

Ensure employee changes are accurately documented and communicated to payroll, benefits, IT, managers, and other appropriate partners in a timely manner.

Maintain accurate and up-to-date employee records, personnel files, organizational information, and HRIS data.

Support employee offboarding, including coordinating required documentation, internal notifications, system access changes, return of company property, and final-day logistics.

Monitor People Operations workflows and follow up with employees and managers to ensure required forms, approvals, and information are completed on time.

Respond to routine employee questions and help connect employees with the appropriate People team member or resource when additional support is needed.

Support employee events, recognition programs, communications, engagement activities, and other People initiatives.

Partner across Recruiting, People Operations, Finance, IT, Facilities, Hospitality, and Administration to ensure employee-related processes are coordinated and executed smoothly.

Provide general administrative and project support to the People team, including special projects and evolving priorities as the organization grows.

Draft and prepare routine HR documentation, including offer letters, promotion and compensation change letters, bonus and recognition award letters, employment verification letters, and other ad hoc employee communications and documents.

Recruiting Support

Provide backup coordination support to the recruitment team when needed.

Partner with recruiters and hiring managers to ensure a smooth, high-touch candidate experience.

Support recruiting events, interview logistics, travel, and recruiting administration.

Employee Experience

Help coordinate the employee shuttle service, including schedules, communications, feedback, and day-to-day issues until hospitality team is built out.

Help ensure employees have seamless, best-in-class workplace experience.

What We're Looking For

3+ years of HR, recruiting coordination, People Operations, or administrative experience.

Highly organized with strong attention to detail and follow-through.

Strong communication and customer-service skills.

Comfortable managing multiple priorities in a fast-moving environment.

High discretion when handling confidential employee information.

Proactive, resourceful, and willing to jump in where needed.

Comfortable working onsite and being a visible, approachable member of the People team.

Compensation & Location

Pay range: $30.00/hr - $43.00/hr

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

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

Intern 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 reimbursement

Up to $4,000 gross up in relocation support, if eligible

Up to $850 commute credit through Lyft or car rental reimbursement, if eligible

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

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 permitted to have access to our technology without an export license.

“US person” means: U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected