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Varda Space

In-orbit manufacturing with reentry return services

Senior Fluid Systems Engineer - Payloads

Thermal & Fluids EngineeringConfirmed live in the last 24 hours
Full-timeEl Segundo, CA, USA

About the Job

Requirements

  • A Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Engineering degree is required in Mechanical, Aerospace, Mechatronics, Biomedical, Chemical, or a related engineering discipline.
  • At least 4 years of experience designing, integrating, testing, and troubleshooting electromechanical hardware is required.
  • Strong mechanical and fluid systems expertise is required, with breadth in at least one adjacent discipline such as avionics, software, thermal, optics, test, or precision instrumentation.
  • Experience delivering hardware for rigorous environments such as aerospace, defense, semiconductor manufacturing, or biotech manufacturing is required.
  • Experience with valves, pumps, pistons, tubing, manifolds, fittings, seals, filters, sensors, metering hardware, thermal-control hardware, and/or compact fluidic assemblies is required.
  • Ability to independently define tasks, manage schedules, and deliver integrated hardware is required.
  • The role requires cross-disciplinary communication skills.
  • Only U.S. persons are eligible to work on export-controlled items. A U.S. person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual admitted as a refugee or granted asylum.

Responsibilities

  • Own pharmaceutical manufacturing payloads from concept through design, integration, launch, in-orbit operation, reentry, and recovery.
  • Lead the design of precision fluid systems, including valves, pumps, pistons, manifolds, tubing, fittings, seals, filters, sensors, and thermal-control systems.
  • Independently perform fluid, thermal, structural, and mechanism analyses using hand calculations, Python or MATLAB models, and finite element analysis as needed.
  • Build, instrument, and test prototypes and flight hardware to characterize flow rate, mixing, filtration, sealing, leak rate, pressure drop, thermal stability, contamination sensitivity, and reliability.
  • Integrate cross-functional inputs from business development, pharmaceutical science, and spacecraft subsystem teams into payload requirements.
  • Develop subsystem requirements, interface control documents, verification plans, test reports, and recovery procedures.
  • Lead continuous improvement and incorporate lessons learned.
  • Mentor entry-level engineers and interns.

Desired Qualifications

  • Prior full-cycle ownership of precision fluid-handling hardware for relevant applications is preferred, including in-space applications such as environmental control and life support systems, low-thrust propulsion, astronaut suits, or spacecraft thermal control, and terrestrial applications such as semiconductor process equipment, biotech process equipment, analytical instruments, or medical devices.
  • Experience with P&IDs, fluid schematics, component sizing, pressure-drop analysis, leak testing, flow characterization, zero-dimensional or one-dimensional fluid/thermal modeling, or design of experiments for process hardware is preferred.
  • Experience with compact systems that control small volumes of liquids or gases under thermal, cleanliness, pressure, sterility, or contamination constraints is preferred.
  • Experience planning and executing aerospace environmental testing, including vibration, thermal vacuum, and electromagnetic interference/electromagnetic compatibility testing, is preferred.
  • Familiarity with microgravity fluid behavior, capillary-driven flows, gas/liquid separation, two-phase flow, current Good Manufacturing Practice principles, cleanroom practices, or regulated hardware environments is preferred.

About the Company

Varda Space

In-orbit manufacturing with reentry return services

Varda Space Industries provides in-space manufacturing by operating production facilities in low Earth orbit and returning finished goods to Earth using reentry capsules. Clients send materials or designs to Varda’s in-orbit production line, where microgravity enables manufacturing processes not possible on Earth. After production, capsules re-enter Earth's atmosphere to deliver goods back to customers, supported by in-orbit equipment and reliable reentry systems. The company aims to make low Earth orbit accessible for multiple industries by building end-to-end space manufacturing infrastructure and industrializing orbit for commercial use.

Company size
201-500
Company stage
Series D
Total funding
$609.5M
Headquarters
El Segundo, CA
Founded
2020

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