Senior Mission Design Engineer

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

We are seeking a highly talented, self-motivated Senior Mission Design Engineer (you may also know this as trajectory design, flight dynamics, or astrodynamics) to join our rapidly growing startup. As part of our larger Autonomous Systems team, you will have the technical leadership opportunity to create, design and implement full-cycle mission planning and orbital mechanics profiles for future reentry vehicles, unlocking the future of space factories with rapid flight and entry for next generation products.

You will work closely with a top-notch multidisciplinary vehicle engineering team to architect the mission plan and trajectory of the world’s first commercial reentry vehicle, enabling the ability to precision land and return manufactured products to earth. You’ll own and develop modeling and simulation infrastructure and tooling to help ensure trajectory design and reentry profile are accurate, reliable, and safe. You will own the full cycle of mission planning and orbital dynamics development, from requirements definition and design to mission planning and on-orbit and reentry operations. We are looking for engineers who enjoy solving complex and open-ended problems, can work effectively in a fast-paced environment and share our passion in creating in-space industry.

Responsibilities

Perform trajectory design, optimization, and dispersion analysis for the reentry of a next generation space vehicle

Design spacecraft trajectories and produce orbital analyses for commercial reentry vehicles

Optimize trajectories based on fuel, time, and/or performance characteristics

Work closely with propulsion, software and flight operations teams to ensure vehicle and mission objectives are accomplished in the vehicle design

Design and implementation of autonomous satellite navigational solutions, collision avoidance, orbital rendezvous, and atmospheric re-entry algorithms

Running Monte Carlo analysis to characterize performance of new features

Lead the development of new vehicle capabilities

Develop and maintain ground-based mission operations tooling in support of automated and scalable on-orbit operations

Support in-orbit operations as trajectory specialist, including coordination with other spacecraft operators and 3rd party entities

Required Skills

Teamwork skills are necessary to solve problems in a collaborative environment

Ability to scope projects including requirements capture and initial design trades given open-ended problems

Develop 6 degree of freedom vehicle simulation using C++ and Python

Perform trajectory design, optimization, and dispersion analysis for the reentry of a space capsule

Mission specific analysis for customer launch and in support of business development

Basic Qualifications

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

Proven system engineering and configuration management skills

Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Preferred Skills and Experience

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

Prior work in a technical leadership role for a launch vehicle or satellite development effort

Prior work in a startup or agile development environment

Capability to solve complex problems autonomy as an individual or as a member of an integrated team

Passion for advancing the commercial space industry

Pay Range

Salary range: $169,067 - $216,031/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 reimbursement.

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