Varda Space
Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics Engineer II
$120K–$153K
El Segundo, California, United States · Full-time · Posted Sep 30, 2026
- Experience
- 3+ years of relevant industry experience with a BS, or 1+ years with a relevant PhD.
- Education
- BS degree in engineering or physics, or a relevant PhD.
- Visa sponsorship
- U.S. citizenship is required to obtain and maintain the security clearance. The company hires only U.S. persons permitted to access its technology without an export license.
About the job
Develop and operate aerodynamic and aeroheating models for Varda’s reentry vehicles, combining simulation, wind-tunnel, and flight data to support vehicle design and missions.
What you'll do
- Build and maintain traceable aerodynamic and aeroheating databases across the flight envelope; provide inputs to GNC, TPS sizing, and mission analysis.
- Plan and analyze wind-tunnel campaigns; run CFD and DSMC simulations and reconcile results with test and flight data.
- Assess stability and performance, contribute to 6DOF models and flight rules, and lead post-flight aerodynamic reconstruction.
What they ask for
- BS degree in engineering or physics and 3+ years of relevant industry experience, or a relevant PhD and 1+ years of relevant industry experience.
- Meaningful contribution to aerodynamic development of a hypersonic vehicle that has flown or is on track to fly within the next 5 years.
- Experience analyzing aerodynamic data from test, CFD, flight, and other sources; experience running CFD and DSMC simulations of hypersonic and subsonic flows.
- Experience building structured and unstructured meshes in Pointwise; proficiency in MATLAB or Python.
Nice to have
- Advanced degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering, specializing in aerodynamics or fluid mechanics.
- Wind-tunnel campaign experience; aerodynamic database ownership for a flying vehicle; 6DOF tools such as POST2; TPS sizing; or flight reconstruction experience.
Pay
USD 119,543- 152,749 per year (base salary)
Tools
Fun3D, LAURA, DPLR, US3D, SPARTA, DAC, CBAero, Pointwise
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative